You're My Heart But I'm Your Weapon
by Prey To The Predator
Summary: A year ago an 18 year old Anastasia Nixon caught the attention of Torchwood when she helped save her school from being overrun with aliens. Now, a year later, she is second-in-command and loving her life.One problem... Captain Jack Harkness. Jack/OC
1. Countrycide Part 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Torchwood . _

Summary: A year ago an 18 year old Anastasia Nixon caught the attention of Torchwood when she helped save her school from being overrun with aliens. Now, a year later, she is second-in-command and loving her life. There's just one problem... Captain Jack Harkness. Will Anna be able to cope with the fact she may never fully hold Jack's heart? After all she thinks that to Jack she might always be ... just a weapon.

This is for all the Jack fan girls out there who thinks Janto is HOT. But still wishes for a story that won't remind them that no matter how hard we try Captian Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) will never be ours *cry*... besides there's too much Janto on this site anyway.

* * *

_The cool breeze whipped across my face__,__ blowing my hair back behind my left shoulder. I was standing at the top of my high school in Cardiff__,__ looking out over the town. In the distance I could see the water tower that signalled where the Torchwood base __was situated__._

_Suddenly I felt a pair of warm, strong arms encircle my waist._

"_You're gonna get cold__,__" __t__he American accent whispered in my ear. His breath was warming the back of my neck and gently moving the strands of my hair._

"_You gonna keep me warm then?" I asked playfully__._

_I gasped as my captor lowered his head and began kissing the curve of my neck._

"_Something wrong__,__ Anna?" he asked innocently when he stopped._

"_Like you don't know__,__" I panted, trying to calm my racing heart._

_Suddenly I was spun around and was looking up into the handsome face of Captain Jack Harkness. His ice__-__blue eyes were sparkling mischievously and his lips were curved into that gorgeous smirk that I loved. He bent his head towards me slowly and I tilted __mine__ up to meet him._

"ANNA WAKE UP!!!"

* * *

I jolted awake and looked around. I was lying on the couch in the Torchwood hub.

"Well you must have been having a good dream," a voice to my left remarked.

I looked and saw Jack leaning against the doorframe to his office. I glanced at my watch. It was only five thirty in the morning but he was dressed in his usual military uniform. I agreed with Gwen and Tosh. The classic look suited him.

"How would you know I was having a good dream?" I asked him and he shrugged innocently, saying with a suggestive smirk, "Well if the erratic breathing and red cheeks have anything to do with it, then it must have been good." I ducked my head muttering 'shut up' and blushed, which was quite understandable, considering what I had been dreaming about and who I was currently talking to. He let out a laugh, then came over to sit next to me, concern etched on his handsome features as he asked, "Anna, what are you doing here? You left late last night and today's your day off."

"Well I ... I mean ... there was a..." I stammered as I desperately tried to wrack my sleepy head for a plausible excuse. Why hadn't I thought up my cover story beforehand? Jack wasn't buying any of it.

"Anna," he said, the warning clear in his voice.

"I had another fight with my parents," I finally admitted quietly and in a rush, hoping he wouldn't hear me if I kept my head lowered. No such luck.

"What about?" he asked.

"Oh you know – the usual argument," I tried to brush it off but Jack grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his sceptical ice-blue eyes.

"It's nothing to worry about. I'll go back tonight, I promise," I reassured him, covering his hand with my own. We were so close to each other that I could smell the addictive scent of spices and sandalwood that I had come to associate with him and I felt my stomach tighten with butterflies.

In truth, this wasn't the first time Jack had found me early in the morning sleeping on the hub's sofa after an argument with my parents.

I was still living with my parents. There was no point in me getting a flat, as I was never there anyway. Still, lately I had been falling out with my parents a lot more than usual and it was usually over one thing... my work.

If they weren't complaining about the hours, they were complaining about how they didn't really know what I was doing, or if they weren't complaining about that, they were complaining about how I was too young to have a job like this. True, I was still at school and it was also true that I was about to take my A-levels but I had a steady well-paid job that I loved and I had been doing for a year. Personally, I believed they were jealous of the fact that I was earning almost as much as both of them put together.

At the age of nineteen, I was the youngest member of Torchwood. But Jack saw some potential in me when he met me and hired me after I had helped them when my school had been overrun with aliens. I was good with weapons and was already skilled with bows and knives and fairly proficient at hand-to-hand combat. Now that I was with Torchwood, Jack had also taught me how to use a gun. When Jack had offered me the job I had been a bit surprised that he would take me on while allowing me to still go to school. So I came up with a routine. I would spend my days at school then go straight to work and after that I would usually be back home around midnight. Occasionally I would get lucky and I would even be pulled out of school for a mission. Needless to say... I loved my job.

A year later I was named second-in-command after Suzie died. I was confused about that too but, according to Jack, Gwen was the new girl, Tosh didn't have the right attitude for a leader and Owen would let the power go to his head, so that left just me as an option. Right now (apart from my parents) I thought my life was pretty great.

"Anna, are you sure you don't want to take a break for a few weeks? Your A-Levels are coming up soon and you need to sort out this thing with your parents."

I sighed in exasperation.

"Jack, I don't wanna go over this again. They're just worried because they almost lost me once and don't want it to happen again. Only, now they're taking it to the point of obsession and they need to back off."

Jack held up his hands in surrender. He didn't want to have an argument again anymore than I did. He had been trying to get me to take some time off for a while. I knew he wanted me to hold onto my life the same way he was urging Gwen to, but it seemed with me he was more adamant that I hold onto as much normalcy as possible. It was probably because I was younger than everyone else, but I was actually very mature for my age, and that was what I loved about working at Torchwood – they treated me like an adult. When I was with them I might as well have been in my late twenties or early thirties the way they treated me. They didn't have a problem with me being second-in-command or with taking orders from someone younger than them. I think it was that fact which made Jack want me to keep my life outside Torchwood so badly. He wanted me to act like the teenager I should be. But I didn't want him to see me as a teenager... I wanted him to see me as the woman I was.

My computer beeped from across the room, jolting me out of my thoughts. Moving over to the monitor I brought up the alert and frowned at what I was reading.

"That's strange," I muttered as I hit the print button.

"What is it?" Jack asked, still sitting on the couch.

"It's this case I'm working on. People have been going missing along this same stretch of country – seventeen of them within the last five months. They just disappear and no one can find any trace of them. The last one was reported missing yesterday. The police are spending less and less time looking into the disappearances, as the number of people increases and none of the bodies have ever been found. I wasn't sure if there was anything to it but I kept an eye on the case, and now it looks like the police are giving up," I told him as I gathered up all the work I had collected and walked over to Jack, handing him the files. I sat next to him in silence, watching him scan over the contents. He looked up and grinned his Cheshire cat grin.

"Pack your bags and round up Gwen and Tosh. I'll get Owen and Ianto. We're going on a trip to the countryside."

It looked like I wasn't going home tonight.

* * *

"I hate the countryside."

I half-heartedly listened to Owen's rant as he sat in the passenger's seat. Jack was driving and Gwen, Tosh and Ianto were squashed into the backseat. Meanwhile, I was happily perched on one of the equipment boxes behind the back seat, watching the grassy fields roll by the window.

"It's dirty, it's unhygienic. And what is that smell?" Owen continued.

"That would be grass," a bored-sounding Gwen said.

"It's disgusting," Owen twisted to look at her.

"Owen, if you're not going to sit back and enjoy this beautiful landscape, then on the way back I'll take the shotgun and you can sit in the back," I told him. Needless to say, that shut him up pretty quickly. Gwen, Tosh and Ianto all turned to me and mouthed 'thank you.' I settled back down to watch the countryside with a satisfied smirk.

About half an hour later Jack pulled in next to one of those burger trailers. We all got out and while Ianto went to get everyone (bar me and Tosh) a burger, the rest of us got out the map and laid it out on the hood of the SUV. Jack, Gwen and Tosh bent over it while I hopped up onto the hood, sitting next to Jack.

"Right, Jack, do you mind telling us what we're doing out here?" Owen asked, looking around the landscape as if it was the last place on earth he would rather be. Which, in all fairness, it probably was.

"Seventeen disappearances within the last five months. Police are clueless," Jack came quickly to the point, as always.

"Now there's a surprise," Owen interjected, adding with a teasing smile at Gwen, "No offence, PC Cooper."

"The last known whereabouts of each of them is somewhere around here," Jack continued, ignoring Owen's interruption, and pointed at the map.

"All within a twenty-mile radius," I added.

"Hold on! How did she get to know about the case first?" Owen asked with a definite whine detectable in his voice.

"'Cause I was the one who found the case, you idiot," I said with an innocent smile. Owen and I were always acting like quarrelsome siblings.

"Might have known that you were the reason we're out here, freezing to death."

"It'll do you some good, city boy. Get some colour in your cheeks," I retorted.

"Anything else linking them?" Gwen asked, trying to get our minds back on the case.

"None of the bodies have ever been found," Jack told her, shaking his head. "These people just fell off the radar. No patterns in age, sex, race. One minute they're here, the next ... poof. Gone."

"The rift doesn't spread out this far, does it?" Gwen asked.

"We don't know that much about it to be certain. And it's increasing in activity all the time," Jack said.

"Come on, aliens aren't gonna bother hanging around out here. Probably some sort of weird suicide club with people choosing the same spot to end it all. God knows, if I had to spend too long up here, I'd want to top myself," Owen gestured to the miles of uninterrupted landscape.

"That can be arranged," I glared at him.

"Here you go. Careful, they're hot," Ianto said, handing the others their burgers and sparing me a retort from Owen. "Sure you don't want anything, Tosh? Anna?"

"Really sure," Tosh said as I shook my head.

"A friend of mine caught hepatitis off a burger from one of these places," Tosh added and I had to stifle a laugh as everyone holding a burger froze. Jack gingerly put his burger down on the hood.

"We'll start with the most recent victim, Ellie Johnson," he said.

"The last record we have is her making a phone call. Her signal cut off mid-call. The coverage map has placed her... somewhere about here," I pointed at a stretch of road.

"Looks as good a place as any to set up camp," Jack said, looking at us.

"Sorry, did you say 'camp'?" a disbelieving Owen asked incredulously, his burger frozen halfway to his mouth.

"Honestly, Owen, what did you think we meant when we said 'Pack your bags'?" I asked.

"You two are serious?" he looked at us, his eyes flicking from me to Jack and back again.

We just smiled.

* * *

"What's the matter with a hotel?" Owen moaned as he and Jack grabbed the last of the tents out of the SUV. The other two tents were finished, so I was practising my archery against a nearby tree.

"People are going missing round here. D'you really wanna stay in a place run by strangers?" Jack asked him.

"'Cause sleeping outside is a lot safer," Owen retorted.

"No other race in the universe goes camping. Celebrate your own uniqueness," I heard Jack say as they dropped the tent onto the grass. I always wondered how he knew that stuff, but he kept his past a secret from the rest of us. I felt privileged that Gwen and I were the ones he trusted with the secret that he couldn't die.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I turned to see Owen shouting and looking helplessly at the gear on the ground.

"Shouting at it is not going to make it magically put itself together, Owen," I said and he glared at me.

"Need a hand getting it up, Owen?" Tosh asked, eager to help him.

"If I did, I wouldn't ask you," he told her before turning back to the tent. I wanted to hit him as I saw Tosh wilt before my eyes at his blatant dismissal. When she turned and walked away I noticed Gwen watching her too with a suspicious look. Was everyone else completely blind to Tosh's attraction to Owen? Owen kicked the tent gear in frustration and I couldn't help but want to get some payback for Tosh. Drawing one of my arrows I nocked it and fired it towards the ground next to Owen's shoe. It hit its mark with just enough impact to make Owen jump in surprise.

"Jesus Christ, Anna!!! What was that for?" he shouted.

"Sorry, it was a muscle spasm," I said, turning back to my target so he wouldn't see my grin. I could hear him muttering about how he'd show me the muscles spasm in his arm if I fired at him again and I couldn't help but grin wider.

I felt a presence behind me as I nocked another arrow and didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"You wanna tell me why you shot at him?" Jack asked, but I could tell he wasn't angry.

"I didn't shoot _at_ him... I shot _near_ him. He was being rude to Tosh. Actually, come to think of it, he's been purposefully obnoxious all day," I said, drawing back the string and anchoring it to my jaw.

"Well, just make sure you don't misjudge the target. I don't need the doctor of the team limping around because he pissed off the second in command," he warned me but I could tell by his voice he was smirking. I took a deep, cleansing breath and released the arrow. It flew through the air and landed next to the other one, right in the middle of the makeshift target. I turned to look at him with a smile and asked sweetly, "Since when do I misjudge a target?" before turning back, nocking the last arrow and pulling the string again.

"True but you might want to..." he began, then I felt his warm hands applying light pressure on my shoulders, forcing me to relax a little, "...relax your muscles a bit. If you keep them tense constantly you'll tire out quicker. If you keep them relaxed, you'll be able to shoot for longer."

I forced myself to concentrate on the target rather than Jack's close proximity to me. My heart was already speeding up in reaction to his nearness. He was as close to me as he had been in my dream. I forced myself to breathe and released the arrow... and again it hit dead centre. I turned around to face him and tried to say something, hoping he would put the redness of my cheeks down to the cold air, when I heard Owen shouting again.

"Some pieces are missing!"

"Nothing's missing. I checked," Ianto said, going over to help the idiot put up the bloody tent.

Grateful for the distraction, I went to pick up my arrows as Jack headed to help Ianto and Owen. As I pulled out the last one and put it in the quiver on my back, another feeling crept up my spine. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up. It was like that feeling you get when someone's watching you. I looked around the camp, but no one else seemed affected by it, so I just shook it off.

* * *

"Oh, come on! It's just a bit of fun! Who was the last person you snogged?" Gwen asked Owen as she and Tosh went through the camp gear on one of the tables set up in the centre of the tents.

"See? You even sound like an eight-year-old! Who the hell says "snog"?" Owen snapped, still frustrated over the tent. Jack and Ianto had decided to leave him to his own devices, since he was acting like a complete jerk when anyone tried to help him.

"Mine was ... Rhys!" Gwen declared.

"Yeah, well, there's a surprise," Owen muttered. To be fair it was a bit of a no-brainer.

"Anna?" Gwen asked me and I looked up from my seat on one of the benches where I was polishing my bow.

"What?" I asked feigning stupidity.

"Who was the last person you snogged?" Gwen insisted.

"And she doesn't mean in your dreams," I heard Jack call from his perch in the front seat of the SUV.

"Shut up Jack!!!" I shouted blushing furiously and a look from Gwen told me she was going to interrogate me later.

"So who was it?" she asked. I sighed and gave in to her, hoping that if I answered she would leave me alone.

"Harry, a boy at school who has a crush on me. I don't want to go into detail," I said concentrating on my bow. In truth he wasn't that good a kisser but he was a sweet guy so I had decided to give him a shot. Never again.

"Okay, Tosh, your go," Gwen chriped, thankfully getting the message that I didn't want to talk about it. Unfortunately she turned to the one person who no doubt wanted to answer even less than I did. I mean, what's more embarrassing than talking about your last snog in front of the guy you like?

"It's easy for you!" muttered Tosh with a self-conscious laugh.

"Oh, come on! Spill the beans!" Gwen urged. I considered the police woman my best friend in Torchwood, but sometimes I wanted to hit her. Didn't she know that this was the very situation that Tosh would hate? Right now she seemed a bit oblivious to other people's feelings. The game was rapidly losing what little appeal it had in the first place.

"Owen." Tosh finally answered. I looked up from my bow in surprise. That was the answer I least expected.

"What?" asked Owen, clearly not believing his ears.

"Really?" breathed Gwen. Couldn't help but wonder at her reaction. She looked like she had just been told Rhys was cheating on her. Did she have a crush on Owen too? That didn't seem likely. She was with Rhys and she constantly defended him against any comments the team (i.e. Owen) would make.

"Tosh, in your dreams," Owen said. If he only knew. Tosh felt as strongly for Owen as I felt for Jack.

"Three in the morning, Christmas Eve, in front of the Millennium Centre. Waiting for a cab. I had mistletoe." I looked at Gwen as she sat down in shock. Surely she must have guessed by now – she was trained to read people and ask questions. You don't remember that much information about a kiss unless it meant something to you.

"Christmas?! You've not had a snog since?" Owen apparently was still trying to get his head round the fact.

"No," Tosh said curtly, turning to sit down on one of the benches.

"Well. Lucky me, eh?" said Owen in a tone that increased my desire to hit him. By this time everyone apart from Jack was sitting around the table.

"So who was yours?" Tosh asked Owen. His flipped water bottle a few times with a smile on his face that I really didn't like. He was about to do some serious shit stirring.

"Gwen, actually," he said. This time everyone looked at Gwen in surprise.

"When was this?" asked Tosh, sounding exactly like Gwen had a few minutes ago when she had learned that Owen was Tosh's last kiss. It seemed there was a bit of a love triangle going on there. Owen raised his eyebrows suggestively at Gwen.

"It was complicated," Gwen said, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"Didn't take you long to get your feet under the table," Tosh muttered. The claws were beginning to show now.

"What?" snapped Gwen, even though she evidently heard her, but Tosh ignored her and turned her attention to Owen.

"So was it just a kiss, or ..." she began, trying to sound casual.

"Tosh, leave it." It was clear Gwen wasn't happy that her own game was turning on her.

I was relieved when I saw Jack put his clipboard down on the SUV seat and head over to join us. He would probably find some way of relieving the tension that was quickly settling over the group.

"Jack?" Owen asked, clearly thinking along the same lines as me. Jack settled himself down next to me on the bench before answering, "Are we including non-human life forms?" and sure enough the atmosphere felt instantly lighter. I even saw Tosh crack a smile.

"Jack!!!" I exclaimed just as Gwen cried, "Oh, you haven't!"

"You're a sick man, Harkness! That is disgusting!" Owen shook his head disapprovingly.

"I never know when he's joking," Gwen said, looking at me.

"Join the club," I shrugged, still trying to work out for myself if he was joking or not. Jack just laughed but didn't answer the question.

"It's my turn, is it?" Ianto spoke up. This wasn't going to be good.

"It was Lisa."

Yep, definitely not good. I watched Jack's smile fall and felt the sombre mood settle over us so thickly you could cut it with a knife.

"Ianto, I'm sorry ..." Gwen said quietly.

"Sorry she's dead? Or sorry you mentioned it?" he asked.

"I...I ... just didn't think..."

"You forgot," Ianto stated matter-of-factly, but it was enough to allow the awkward silence and guilt between us to thicken even more. I genuinely felt sorry for Ianto, but did he have to bring it up when the tension was running so high? The awkward silence was definitely getting even more so with each passing moment. The game had definitely lost all of its appeal.

"We should get some firewood," Owen broke the silence, clearly eager to get away.

"I'll give you a hand," Gwen got up and followed him. As they left, something told me that Owen was about to get an earful from Gwen for telling everyone about their kiss.

I couldn't stand the silence anymore and got up. I wasn't going to make an excuse... I just wanted to get away.

I walked over to the tree I had left my weapons against and began to arm myself. I liked cases like this because there was always a posibility that I could use my bow. In the city there were very few occasions where I got that chance but I always made sure it was in the SUV in case I needed it. It was more of a comfort thing really.

I had been practising archery since I was eight and my bow was my prized possession. As I grew older I began to practice throwing knives at my target as well as shooting arrows and taught myself hand to hand combat. It had been these skills that had prompted Jack to hire me in the first place.

I couldn't help but smile as I remembered Gwen's expression when she witnessed my skills with so many different types of weaponry. When I had first joined it had taken a lot of prompting from the others before I finally admitted why I wanted to be so efficient with weapons. The simple answer was that I didn't want to feel weak.

For the first nine years of my life my family and I had lived in Scotland and even though I was now nineteen I still spoke with a Scottish accent. But when I was seven I came down with a bad case of ammonia that had me bed-ridden for months. I had been held back a year in school because I had missed so much, which was why I was taking my A-levels now instead of last year. I don't remember much from the time I was ill. The one thing that stuck with me was the feeling of weakness and complete helplessness. There had been a point where I had gotten so ill they were almost one hundred percent sure that I wasn't going to make it, but eventually I pulled through. So when I was released from the hospital and got my strength back I made a vow to myself that I would do anything I could to prevent me from feeling that helplessness again. That was when I took up archery and I tried taking martial arts classes but I couldn't be bothered listening to the instructors yelling at everyone constantly. We moved to Cardiff just before I turned ten and, as a result, for my tenth birthday my parents had set up my own little gym in the garage of our new house complete with a punch bag so I could develop my own fighting style. My skill with knives developed after I turned thirteen, when I began throwing them against my archery target to see if I could hit it. They were still the only thing about my fighting that my parents didn't know about... and I intended to keep it that way.

I strapped my belt around me so it sat low on my hips. The belt was very useful as it held three knives along my back, one at my left hip and my gun on my right hip. I then slipped an extra knife in my boot and strapped my quiver onto my back. This quiver was custom made so my arrows wouldn't fall out or rattle about when I ran and it had a quick release clip that I could secure my bow onto. That way I didn't have to take the quiver off in order to attach the bow and it kept it out of the way if I was fighting or running.

Once I was armed I took my position facing the tree and whipped out the three knives at my back throwing them at the bark.

Thud. Thud. Thud. They all it their mark in a very close grouping.

"Frustrated?" I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey Tosh," I greeted then nodded in answer to her question. "Yeah a bit. Fun game huh?"

"Tell me about it," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "It's easy for Gwen, she's got a steady boyfriend. Do you think Owen was telling the truth about their kiss?"

"With the way Gwen reacted? Definitely," I answered, walking up to my target and prising the knives out of the wood. Gwen may have been my best friend in Torchwood but Tosh was more like my older sister. I could tell her things that I wouldn't dream of telling anyone else. I could tell Gwen things too, but she always liked a good gossip. Still, the three of us were closer than we had ever been with Suzie who had never liked me very much anyway.

"By the way I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" I asked

"For shooting at Owen for being such an..." she trailed off searching for the right word.

"Obnoxious jerk?" I offered and she smiled.

"Yeah. By the way what was Jack talking about when he said "she doesn't mean in your dreams"?" asked Tosh.

"Oh come on Tosh. I was expecting the third degree from Gwen but not you," I whined and started throwing the knives again, each one hitting its mark with a thud.

"Come on, tell me what he was talking about?" she persisted. I sighed and turned to concentrate on shooting again so I wouldn't have to look at her while speaking.

"He found me sleeping in the Hub this morning -" I began.

"Again?" Tosh interjected.

"Look do you wanna hear the story or not?" I asked, then continued as she kept silent. "Anyway, according to him my cheeks were flushed and my breathing was erratic while I was sleeping."

"What were you dreaming about?" she asked. I bit my lip wondering if I should tell her. But I didn't want anyone to know just yet. I wasn't ready to tell anyone.

"I don't remember," I muttered.

"Liar," Tosh said behind me. "Well when you're ready to tell someone I'm here."

"Thanks Tosh," I said, turning to look at her.

Just then Gwen and Owen burst into the clearing.

"What is it?" I asked, running up with the others behind me.

"Body... In the ... woods," panted Owen. All of us followed Gwen and Owen through the trees.

* * *

I leant by a tree next to Gwen as Owen, Tosh and Jack examined the larvae-covered carcass while Ianto was putting up yellow tape around the scene.

"Well, it's not Ellie Johnson, that's for sure," Owen concluded. "This is a male, late 40s, 50s. Wasn't killed here. No blood spatter or signs of a struggle. Must have been brought here after he died."

"Why do that? It's not like they've tried to bury him here," Gwen asked.

"Maybe you disturbed them and they ran away," Tosh suggested.

"Maybe it's a warning. Whoever's responsible is marking out their territory," Ianto offered.

"Something about this is bothering me. It doesn't make any sense to leave the body like this and something that finishes of their victim in that way doesn't strike me as the type to scare easy," I said, talking more to myself than anyone else.

"Cause of death?" Jack asked, kneeling down beside the body.

"Impossible to say. The body's been stripped of the flesh and bodily organs. So, all that's left is a carcass," Owen told him.

"Could the Weevils have come out this far?"

"No, Weevils don't finish off their victims like this," Jack shook his head.

"Guys, listen," I hissed, as my ears caught a noise in the distance. It sounded like an engine. The SUV's engine.

"Is that ours?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," Jack exclaimed, springing to his feet and sprinting in the direction of the camp with the rest of us close on his heels.

We burst into the camp site in time to see the SUV flatten the tents as it drove over them. We all ran after the SUV and I heard Jack swear in frustration. Eventually we were forced to stop as the car headed towards the road, leaving everyone in the dust.

* * *

"All right! I've said I'm sorry!" I heard Owen shout as Tosh berated him for leaving some of the gear in the SUV. While the two of them bickered, Ianto was playing about with a piece of equipment, Gwen was looking at a map and Jack was pacing around as he tried to come up with a plan. Meanwhile I was trying to restrain myself from hitting myself for being so stupid. In this job I knew one of the most important things was to follow your instincts. I should have told Jack the minute I felt that someone could be watching us. No matter how stupid I felt about telling him, he'd trusted me on instincts like that before. He would have listened to me. Eventually Jack broke his silence as he looked around the ruined camp.

"Looks like that body wasn't a warning. More of a decoy."

"That would mean we've been watched since we've arrived," Gwen pointed out and this time I actually slammed my forehead with the palm of my hand.

"Tosh, can you get a tracking signal?" Jack asked.

"Already done. I took the liberty," Ianto interjected, waving the PDA in his hand. "It's currently 3.4 miles west from here."

"Gunning at ninety, no doubt. You steal a piece of equipment like that you drive straight on till morning," Owen said, ever the optimist.

"Actually, no. It's been stationary for the past four minutes. I'd go so far as to say it was parked," Ianto answered in that ever-present dry humour of his.

"There's a small village in that area. Other than that, nothing for thirty miles," Gwen held out the map to show us.

"Call me suspicious, but this has all the hallmarks of a trap," Tosh said, looking wary and Jack nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing." He paused for a beat before asking, "Anyone fancy a walk?"

* * *

"Mind telling me what you're beating yourself up about?" Jack asked as we followed the others.

"I felt it, Jack," I murmured, shaking my head in frustration. "I felt that prickling on the back of my neck that told me we were being watched. And I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything because I thought I was being paranoid. If I'd just told you then..."

"Hey I'm not having any of that "what if" talk, you got that?" Jack said sternly.

"But, Jack, one of the first things you told me when I joined Torchwood was that it was good to follow my instincts. It was one of the reasons you hired me in the first place," I argued.

"Anna, you're human. You're allowed to make mistakes. Anyway, even if we had known about it, we probably wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop the SUV being stolen. Whoever we're up against are pros. They've done this before."

"I guess you're right," I mumbled.

"Of course I'm right," he said smugly.

"Still no good with the modesty, Jack?" I asked dryly and he laughed.

"That's better. I like you more when you've got a bit of humour around you."

"Looks like we're there," I said as the others stopped and we looked out at a small row of buildings in the distance.

"Why would anyone want to live out here?"I heard Owen ask as Jack and I drew level with the rest of them.

"Because, believe or not, when people aren't going missing the countryside can be a very peaceful place," I said.

"Whatever," Owen grumbled in response.

"Has the SUV moved?" Jack asked Ianto.

"Not for an hour now," Ianto answered, checking his watch.

"Well, as much as I love countryside views, I think we should get moving. Being out in the open like this is making us easy targets." With that I jumped down from the grassy banks we were standing on and strode towards the buildings. I tried not to, but the only thing I could think about was that dead body in the forest. I wasn't really religious but at that moment I prayed that wouldn't happen to any of us.

* * *

We drew level with the small row of buildings when I felt something that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I stiffened.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"It's that feeling again, like we're being watched," I told him. He nodded and spun around to face the others, giving his orders.

"Tosh, Ianto – follow the signal, find the SUV. Anna, Owen, Gwen ... Let's see if there's any room at the inn." He turned back and looked at the gloomy stone structure of what appeared to be the local pub.

Jack opened a door which led into the main seating area. The place was completely deserted. Jack signalled to us to look around. Gwen moved behind the bar and I heard Owen quietly teasing her, "Pint of best, please, love? And erm, yeah, get one for yourself."

Gwen levelled a look at him as Jack and I scoffed and continued searching. I turned at the sound of the cash register bell echoing loudly in the otherwise silent room. Gwen peered in the cash tray frowning slightly.

"Full?" I asked and she nodded, pulling out a roll of notes and inspecting them before placing them back down and looking around.

"Where is everybody?"she asked no one in particular.

Jack said nothing but motioned for Gwen and me to follow and headed to the back of the pub. The three of us made our way down a hallway with our guns pointed steadily ahead. Jack moved to investigate another set of rooms while Gwen and I moved toward what turned out to be the kitchens.

The room was a mess. Dirty plates, cups and pans littered the counter tops and the smell of rotting food saturated the air, and there was another smell that I couldn't quite place but knew I had smelt before. A small buzzing sound behind us made us spin around, guns at the ready. There was a bug light hanging on the wall. I felt the bile rise up in my throat as I began to piece together the pattern that emerged. The light attracted the flies which were attracted to the kitchens by the presence of food. But there was something else that attracted flies and also explained the smell that I couldn't quite place. I slowly looked down and saw what I was expecting laying in the pool of torchlight.

Another skinless, meatless corpse. About a foot away from where we were standing. I stared at the corpse in shock while Gwen ran out of the room. I heard her retching as she threw up on the floor. I heard someone else in the kitchen.

"You okay?"Jack asked a still retching Gwen

"In there," Gwen chocked out.

A second later Jack was beside me, Wembley raised, freezing as he saw the body. Owen passed Gwen in the kitchen with a cheeky, "That burger coming back to haunt you?" and stopped dead next to Jack as he caught sight of the body as well.

"Oh, my God ..." I heard him breathe out. I was still staring at the corpse in shock, only vaguely aware of what was going on around me – Gwen's retching, Owen and Jack's heavy breathing, my own heart pounding in my ears and the slam of a door somewhere in the distance.

"ANNA!" Jack's commanding shout pulled me from my trance and I followed him as he ran past Gwen and out the door.

"Gwen, come on!" I shouted as I ran past her.

The three of us burst into the courtyard. I holstered my gun and drew out my bow, fitting an arrow in case a long distance shot was needed. Gwen, still looking rather green, murmured, "Jack please ... something's going on here."

She was spooked and, I had to admit, so was I. It wouldn't be long before they noticed it. Generally the quieter I became the more scared I was.

"Let's take a look in here. Come on." Jack headed over to one of the houses.

"I'm going back to Owen!" I shouted, not giving him a chance to argue as I bolted back into the pub.

I made my way back to the kitchen and watched silently as Owen took samples from the body. He had turned on the lights and the body didn't look half as scary now that it was bathed in artificial light rather than the weak beam of the torch. Owen sighed and stood up looking regretfully down at the body.

"Whatever they were, I hope you put up a good fight."

"Is it bad?" I asked. At that Owen whirled around, startled and snapped, "Seriously Anna, you're as bad as Jack when it comes to that!"

"Comes to what?"

"Sneaking up on people," he answered tersely, then gestured to my bow. "You know that won't do you much good in here."

"It's more of a comfort thing right now, if I'm honest," I said, clutching the bow tighter.

"Getting spooked?" he asked sympathetically and I nodded.

"I remember the first time I saw you with that bow. A school full of aliens was a first for me. We thought it would be a pretty straight-forward case, you know – get in, deal with the aliens, do a few retcons and back out. But what do we find? Us at a stalemate with aliens who have hostages, and one eighteen-year-old girl determined to get her friend out safely, who also happens to have a weapon at hand." I smiled as I appreciated his attempts to distract me from my fear. "Thanks Owen."

"So what do you think?" he asked, gesturing towards the body.

"I think I wish I had never found this case," I muttered. "I would be at home studying right now."

"Studying what?" he asked curiously.

"Human Biology." I smiled at the irony.

"Well, here you go then," he said, gesturing towards the body. "This is a corpse and right here is the..."

"Owen, shut up," I giggled, then grew more serious. "Will you be okay while I go and find the others?" He nodded.

I met up with Jack and Gwen outside.

"What is it?" I asked, noticing Gwen was shaking slightly.

"We found a few more bodies," Jack answered, then looked at me with concern. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, muttering that I was as okay as I could be under the circumstances, then clipped my bow back onto my quiver and declared, "I'm going to find Tosh and Ianto."

"Not on your own," Jack said firmly as Gwen squeaked a protest.

"Jack, come on. They need to know more bodies have been found and that whatever did that to the body in the forest is probably in the village."

"And along the way you could end up as the next corpse," Jack growled.

"Jack, I know where they're going and I'm the fastest one here, plus how else are we going to get a message to them without our earpieces? I'll be careful, I promise," I pleaded. I had to know Tosh and Ianto were all right.

Jack scrutinised me for a minute before nodding.

"If anything happens to you..." he began.

"... I promise you can yell at me in the afterlife. If you ever get there," I said, then added in an attempt to lighten up the mood, "and, besides, if I died here I wouldn't need to worry about passing my A-Levels."

"Just hurry up, Anna," he said, ignoring Gwen squawks of objection. "Be careful."

"I will be," I promised as I sprinted away from him.

I had been running for about ten minutes when I felt that sensation again. The sensation of being watched. I stopped and pulled one of my knives out of my belt. It was my favourite knife, silver with a black handle imprinted with the Torchwood logo. But what made it really personal was the Opal set in the handle. Opal was special to me because it was my birthstone. The knife was also special because it was Jack's gift for being promoted to second-in-command.

I stood still, trying to calm my racing breath and pounding heart that had nothing to do with the fact I had been running for ten minutes. All of a sudden I felt very vulnerable and wished I had stayed at Jack's side.

A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I span around defensively, dagger raised and ready. I barely had time to register a dark hooded figure, when a blow to the side of my head knocked me down.

My only saving grace as unconsciousness took hold of me was the feeling of my knife driving into the soft flesh of my attacker's stomach. If I was going down, at least I was taking one of them with me.


	2. Countrycide Part 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own torchwood. And unfortunately never will.**

**

* * *

**

"Anna, wake up!" a gentle voice coxed me out of unconsciousness... Tosh's voice?

I groaned and opened my eyes, but it didn't really do much good. Wherever I was, it was practically pitch black. The only light was coming from two torch beams, but they were so bright to my unadjusted eyes that I couldn't see who was holding them.

"Where am I?" I croaked through dry lips.

"We don't know," said a voice I recognised.

"Ianto?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Anna, it's me."

My eyes had adjusted well enough so I could make out the forms of Ianto and Tosh in the dark. I struggled to my feet and immediately noticed something. My hand flew to my back... No quiver and no bow. They had taken my belt as well, and the tiny dagger I kept in my boot. The only piece of equipment I was left with was my torch.

"What happened?" I asked them.

"We don't know. We've been down here for a while and they threw you in about 30 minutes ago," Tosh replied.

"What is this place?" I asked, running my torch over the floor and walls. There were dozens of pairs of shoes and some bedraggled clothing. "Is it a prison?"

"More like a storage room," Ianto said. "You see that refrigerator over there?" He gestured to the far wall. I moved towards it but Tosh warned, "I really wouldn't, if I were you, Anna."

"Why? What's in it?" I asked. She seemed reluctant to tell me. Well either she was going to, or I was going to find out for myself. I yanked open the door... and immediately wished I hadn't. The fridge was bloodied on the inside and filled with body parts – some wrapped in plastic, some not. I slammed the door shut again, trying hard not to throw up. It was becoming all too clear as to why we were down here.

"What are these creatures?" I murmured.

"Did you get a look at them?" Ianto asked, and I shook my head.

"No, they were too fast. But I did get one in the stomach with my knife." I wished I had said knife with me. It always made me feel safer. I shook my head to get rid of my melancholy train of thought. "Can we get the door open?"

We spent the next few minutes examining it.

"Got to be three steel bolts -- top, middle and bottom," Tosh concluded.

"How good are you at calculating target stress points? Find the weakest point, bit of brute force ..." Ianto suggested.

"Can't do it. It's reinforced," I said, leaning against the wall. Now that I was moving, I was beginning to feel sore all over. My head felt like it was dancing the conga.

Ianto grabbed the pipe above him and braced himself as he kicked the door. The thumps echoed around the room ominously but the door didn't give.

"Told you," I said.

Just then light filtered in from a little window in the door. We all jumped into defensive positions as the door opened and someone carrying a rifle entered. Ianto jumped into action as Tosh and I looked for weapons of any kind. We came up with an ice hook each. They weren't ideal but beggars can't be choosers.

"Get off! Look at me, you idiot! I'm not gonna hurt you!" a woman's voice snapped as Ianto was knocked to the floor but immediately jumped up again into a defensive stance.

"You've got a gun," Tosh pointed out.

"I promise, I promise," the woman pleaded.

"Okay, guys ... give her some space," I ordered softly as we backed up a little.

"Thank you," the woman said in a shaky breath before turning to Ianto, who was nearest to her. "Were you injured...? When they took you? Can I see? I'm a nurse." She reached out to touch Ianto, but he flinched away from her and turned his warning glare up to boiling point. Thankfully she got the message and backed away.

"Okay, okay, okay." She threw her hands up in surrender, then looked at me and asked, "Does anyone else know you're here? Have you managed to call for help?"

"We don't need any help," I answered sharply. I wasn't about to tell her about Jack and the others in the village. For all I knew she could be trying to get information for the creatures who were holding us here. The less information I told her the safer we would be.

"I can't help you. I'm sorry," she whispered in shaky panting breaths as she backed away from us.

"What do you mean?" Ianto asked.

"I've been sent to collect you. I've got to take you to them," she explained. I really wasn't happy with her holding that gun, considering how much she was shaking.

"Tell us what's going on. We can help," Tosh pleaded.

"No one is safe," she laughed incredulously before becoming serious again. "Every ten years ... it takes us again."

"What takes you?" I asked in what I hoped was a calming voice. "What is it?"

"The Harvest," she whispered as if she spoke of a sacred secret. Ianto had obviously had enough, because he stepped forward to try and get the gun of her again. She had seen it coming, though, and immediately had the weapon trained on him.

"No, please. You have to come with me," she pleaded. This woman was obviously scared and unstable. It made me anxious, since unstable people tended to be much freer with the trigger-finger.

"Ianto, back off. Tosh, drop the hook," I ordered, and reluctantly dropped my own.

As the woman herded us out of the room I found myself hoping against hope that Jack and the others were having better luck than us.

* * *

Jack slammed the bleeding man roughly down on a reclining wooden bench and began (non-too-gently) checking his wounds. There was one gunshot wound in his right leg which Jack wrapped with a cloth. The man seemed to be clutching his stomach and gasping in pain. Jack looked closer and saw what appeared to be a familiar-looking black handle protruding from the man's abdomen. He grabbed hold of it and pulled it out, ignoring the cry of pain his actions caused. The opal set in the handle confirmed what he already knew.

It was Anna's knife. The one he gave her for being promoted to second-in-command. The one he gave her to make sure she was always prepared and safe.

He also knew she wouldn't have parted with it willingly. He knew she always had that knife on her. Out on assignments, in the hub, in school, even when she was out with her friends.

Placing the knife down beside him, Jack took another strip of cloth and pressed it to the wound Anna's knife had made, stemming the blood for the moment.

"This'll help you for a short amount of time. Now, start talking," Jack told the man, grabbing the lapels of his coat roughly.

"You've got to get help. I know where you can get some," the man pleaded, shaking his head in agony. Jack slapped him to stop his ramblings and gain his attention.

"Hey! We had a deal? I help you, you tell me where they've taken the boy, and what the hell is going on around here," Jack growled, biting back the urge to ask about Anna.

"You don't know?" the man began laughing mirthlessly at Jack.

By this point Jack patience had pretty much run out. He didn't know what was going on, he had confirmation that Anna was in danger, and because Anna had been heading towards Tosh and Ianto, it was a pretty safe bet that they were in danger too. To top all that up, Gwen had been shot. Needless to say, Jack was pretty pissed off by now. He began ripping the makeshift bandages off.

"What are you doing?! Put it back!" the man screamed in panic.

"You need to know something," Jack growled, grabbing the man's face. "A long time ago, I was pretty good at torture. You see, I had quite a reputation as the go-to guy. My job demanded it at the time, you see. So, I know where to apply the tiniest amount of pressure to a wound like yours." Jack pressed at the gash Anna's knife had made.

"You've gotta stop, you're gonna kill me!" the man screamed before turning to pleading again. "Help me! Please stop!!"

But Jack's mercy had been pushed to the limit.

"It's in your power to get me to stop," he hissed. "Just tell me what I need to know, because in ten seconds, I'm gonna stop asking politely." He picked up Anna's knife and showed it to the man, proving that he was serious.

"Right. All right. I'll tell you everything. Just stop," the man whimpered, eyeing the knife warily.

Jack regarded him for a second, before placing the knife back down and taking a firmer grip on the man's coat.

"Now, talk."

* * *

Sheep... that's what we were... bloody sheep.

Or at least that's what I felt like as the woman (whose name, we found out, was Helen Sherman) herded us into a big stone house. She had a manic look in her eyes that I really didn't like, and she still had a shaky hold on that bloody rifle.

"In there, please," she ordered.

"If you help us, we can stop all this," Tosh said with confidence, which was then negated as she let out a slightly desperate, "Please."

"I'm sorry. Get back," Helen ordered again, pushing at Tosh's back with the tip of her rifle. She moved us all into the room, in front of a large plastic sheet hanging from the ceiling, and then backed away from us. I suddenly found myself resisting the urge to gag but I couldn't figure out what had caused it. I heard Tosh's shocked whisper behind me.

"Oh, God, that stench ..."

Then I realised what had caused me to gag. It was a smell I had become familiar with ever since I had joined Torchwood – blood. Only this time it was so much more potent than ever before. I ripped back the plastic sheet and the smell became much stronger. We stood staring, sickened at the scene before us.

There were organs in glass jars on a chopping board in the centre of the room. Bodies were wrapped completely in plastic and hung from the ceiling along the walls like pieces of cattle. Blood was everywhere.

I turned to Helen as she stepped through the plastic sheet.

"Tell us what these creatures are," I demanded, then asked more forcefully, "Do they look like us?" when she just smiled.

"How else are we gonna look?" asked a voice from the corner.

We spun around to see a big burly-looking man. He stepped into the room and I heard Helen laugh manically at our expressions, then to our disgust the man pulled Helen towards him and they kissed passionately. It would seem my initial suspicions about the woman had been justified.

I heard Ianto breathe out heavily in shock at what he was seeing and hearing. The slight hitch to his breath alerted me of his plan just a fraction too late. He charged at the kissing couple, but the man broke away too quickly and got Ianto with a fierce punch to the gut that sent him sprawling to the floor. Tosh and I moved to help him but once again found that bloody rifle in our faces. The only difference was that Helen was no longer shaking, but she still had the manic grin spread across her face.

At that point the door burst open and a guy not much older than me ran into the room.

"Evan, there are three more out there," he panted, trying to catch his breath.

"They won't be a problem," Evan murmured as he handcuffed Ianto, but Helen seemed to have a different idea, as she suddenly grabbed my shoulder and kicked my knees out from behind. I crashed painfully onto the concrete floor, and then I saw the guy grab Tosh and do the same to stop her from interfering as Helen pulled my head back by my hair.

"You said there wasn't anyone else," she growled, getting so close to my face that I had to stifle the urge to gag as her putrid breath ran over my face.

"I just said we didn't _need_ anyone else. I didn't say anything about being on our own," I pointed out and got a slap for my cheek.

"How are they?" Evan asked, leering over me and Tosh.

"They're in a good state," Helen answered, lowering the rifle as both Tosh and I had our hands tied behind our backs now. "I think they're the best we've ever had."

"Yeah? Oh, I forgot to tell you, we caught the boy. Finally," Evan said, as he grabbed a figure that had been lying behind the table. The boy was bound and a bag was tied over his head.

"Come on. Come on, Kieran, speak up lad," Evan cooed in a gloating tone as he removed the bag to reveal a whimpering, terrified young man.

"I won't tell anyone!" He pleaded for his life.

"Who is he?" Tosh demanded. Evan looked at her as if she was stupid.

"He's meat," he replied as if it was obvious, pushing Kieran back down to the floor. "I'm afraid we're all just meat." He headed through the sheeting into the next room.

"Get ready to run," I heard Ianto whisper.

"Don't do anything stupid," I warned quietly, as I heard Evan come back through. Only this time he was clutching a baseball bat.

"What're you going to do, put us on meat hooks?" Tosh asked.

"No, not yet," Evan answered, grabbing me and pushing me into the arms of the other guy before turning back to Tosh. "You see ... meat ... has to be tenderized first," he told her quietly, in what was probably his idea of a seductive voice, and ran the tip of his grubby finger from Tosh's collarbone down to the edge of her top. Tosh was shaking in fright and I wasn't doing much better, as the guy holding me pressed himself against my back and ran his lips over my hair and down to my neck.

Tosh glanced at Ianto, who nodded at her and then towards me. He was about to make his move. Unfortunately Evan caught this little exchange and moved towards Ianto threateningly. He stopped in front of him and ran his eyes over Ianto's frame hungrily, with a sick smile on his repulsive features. To my surprise, Ianto smiled back, but it all made sense when he moved forward and head-butted Evan right between the eyes.

"Run!!!" he yelled.

"Tosh, go get the others!" I screamed as I struggled against my captor. Tosh moved quickly and managed to get out of the building while Helen and Evan were preoccupied with Ianto.

Eventually Ianto was sent sprawling to the floor by a punch delivered by Evan. Once Ianto was down, the man kicked him for good measure, before grabbing a big knife and walking out without another word. I now felt sick to my stomach with worry for Tosh. She was out there alone, with her hands tied behind her back, trying to run through a dark wood with that maniac after her.

I caught Ianto's eye and saw my panic reflected in his face. I felt so sorry for him. This was one of the worst missions we'd had to date, and it was his first time out of the office, despite the fact that he had joined Torchwood a few months before me. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end. We didn't hear Helen until it was too late. When she brought the butt of the rifle down on Ianto, knocking him out, I could help but feel a sense of relief. At least now he wouldn't be aware of what was happening to him.

"What do you want to do with that one, David?" Helen asked. The guy called David pushed me to the floor.

"She's not going anywhere. Just leave her, she can't do much harm," he said.

"I don't know, David," Helen hesitated. "The others seemed to listen to her a lot."

"She's just a girl – what can she do?" David asked arrogantly. I decided to show him. Spinning around on my back, I kicked his legs out from underneath him. When he hit the floor I snapped my feet forward and they connected with his nose. I saw Helen move towards me with her ever faithful rifle raised to bring down onto my head but David shouted, "NO!!!" As he struggled to his feet, he pulled me towards him and straddled my waist. I winced as his weight forced my hands agonizingly against the concrete floor.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with you, I see." It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what kind of 'fun' he was talking about.

"Not now, David," Helen scolded him. "We have to go and round everyone else up. Leave the girl here and you can have your 'fun' with her later."

I breathed a sigh of relief as David rolled off me and he and Helen went out, leaving Ianto, Kieran and myself helplessly tied on the floor.

We were all silent for a while before I heard Kieran muttering to himself, "I told them they would come back. Idiots."

"Who?" I demanded. It was possible that this guy had run into Jack and the others.

"Those people who were with you when you arrived," he answered.

"You talked to them?" I asked and he nodded. "What happened?"

I listened as Kieran told me the whole story. Great, so Tosh was on the run, Ianto and I were trapped and Gwen was shot, which would mean that Owen would have to stay with her. In other words, Jack was the only one capable of doing something to get us out of this mess.

Gradually the house filled up with the villagers. From their conversations it was obvious they were all involved in the slaughterhouse. I shivered when David entered and sent a lustful look my way as he moved towards me. He held me against him as he listened to the others' conversations. He was running his hands all over me as if I was a fascinating new toy. I suppose to him I was exactly that.

Suddenly the door opened and Gwen was shoved into the room, followed by Tosh and Owen, who were closely guarded by Evan and someone else who was wearing a police uniform.

"Who are these people?" Tosh asked, looking around at all the others in the room.

"This is our village," Helen answered with a stupid giggle that could have passed for that of a mentally deranged schoolgirl.

"But the villagers are dead," Gwen snapped, clutching at her stomach, which was covered in blood from the shotgun wound. A deadly silence filled the room as they figured out what had been happening. I decided to voice their thoughts.

"They are all involved, Gwen," I said, and David pulled me forcefully closer to his body as a warning. Gwen, Tosh and Owen all looked over at me, realising for the first time I was in the room.

"Get your hands off her, you bastard!" Owen growled to David, but everyone ignored him. I saw Tosh and Gwen looking at me with worry.

"This is our Harvest," Evan said, as if that explained it all.

"Only in the bloody countryside! You sick fuckers!" Owen exclaimed. Trust him to still hurl insults at the people holding a gun to his face. Evan and the other guy grabbed the three of them and flung them to the floor. Gwen saw Kieran and crouched over him protectively, making sure he was all right.

"Where's Ianto? What have you done with him?" I heard Tosh demand in a panic.

Evan grabbed Ianto, lifted him up from the floor behind the butcher's table, where Helen had tossed him, and pulled the burlap bag off his head, slapping him a couple of times to make sure he was alert.

"Wake up, man! Time to be bled," he said, grabbing a meat cleaver off the table before turning to the rest of us. "Like veal, it takes a long time. But it definitely makes the meat taste better."

'Great, it's 'Ready, Steady, Cook' uncut.' But my humour was short-lived when Ianto whimpered as the meat cleaver was brought closer and closer to his neck.

Then I became aware of a rumbling noise, and the glasses on the tables started vibrating. The sound of a rumbling motor got louder and louder, and I couldn't help it as my heart sped up with hope.

"What now?" Evan growled, shoving Ianto away from him and heading out to check. Gwen grabbed Ianto and held him to her in relief.

"What the fuck...?" I heard someone mumble, as they stood watching the double doors anxiously.

There was a resounding CRASH as a large gray tractor burst through the double doors, coming to a stop in the middle of the kitchen. Jack appeared from the tractor with a rifle and shot Evan in the leg. He then proceeded to shoot at anyone standing up. Owen and the others ducked to avoid getting hit.

David yanked me out of sight into a small alcove and covered my mouth to keep me from screaming. I wouldn't have bothered anyway. The others knew I was in the room and I trusted Jack to be a good enough shot so he wouldn't hit me.

I heard shot after shot echo of the walls, I heard the sounds of bodies hitting the floor, I heard Helen's distinctive scream as she was hit. There was a change of pitch in the gun fire as Jack exchanged the rifle for his Webley. But what I was listening to most of all was Jack's screams of rage as each shot was fired. He wasn't just mad with rage... He was beyond boiling point.

"Oh, really?" I heard Jack say after a moment of silence. I could only guess that someone had tried to retaliate from his attack. Sure enough, a round went off from the Webley and I heard a scream as it hit its target.

"Where's Anna?" I heard Tosh ask.

David took that as his cue and pushed me out in front of him, making sure my body was between him and Jack. They all turned at the noise. I heard the girls gasp in horror and saw the fury and rage flash through Jack and Owen's eyes.

"Let me through and I'll let her go," I heard David say. I was really getting sick of the sleaze bag and decided to show him that I wasn't some helpless damsel in distress. I snapped my head back and felt the satisfying crunch of bone beneath my skull.

It worked, as David let me go and I dropped to the floor. I heard the Webley go off and felt David fall beside me. He wasn't dead – I knew that by the stream of curses pouring from his mouth as he clutched his wounded nose and the fresh bullet wound in his shoulder. Owen rushed over to me and cut my ties before pulling me into a hug. In that moment I had never been happier to have my surrogate brother by my side.

"No, Jack! Don't do it," I heard Gwen shout. I looked over to see Jack holding Evan by lapels of his coat and pointing his Webley under his chin. I gently pushed Owen away and moved over to Jack with Gwen.

"These people don't deserve warnings," Jack shouted back and I could see his entire frame trembling with anger. I reached out and gripped his shoulder, hoping a bit of human contact would calm him down.

"Let me question him," Gwen pleaded, trying to reach out to him, but she seemed afraid to touch him. "I have to understand. I want to know why. Otherwise this, this is too much."

"They're injured," Tosh stated. "They need to get to the hospital."

"Owen, help them and then phone the police," I ordered, before turning my attention back to Jack. "Jack, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to find out why?" I whispered to him.

"Don't tell me you don't want to know, too," Gwen interjected softly, and I tightened my grip on his shoulder to try a coax him away from Evan. I didn't particularly want to see any more bodies today.

Jack released the man and straightened, but I still kept my hand on his shoulder as if I could stop him if he changed his mind and decided to kill Evan, David and the rest of them. Gwen moved away to help Owen, Tosh and Ianto.

"Oh, so this is Jack," David said, feigning surprise before asking Evan, "Isn't that the guy she was muttering about when she was knocked out?" They both laughed manically, then began imitating me, "Jack, help me... please, help me... Jack, I'm sorry..." I felt my chest constrict and my breathing speed up, then they said the one phrase that made my breathing stop altogether – "Jack, I love you."

I yanked my hand off Jack's suddenly rigid shoulder as if I was electrocuted, then turned away, trying to ignore their frenzied laughing and the tears threatening to run down my cheeks. I walked up to Ianto and held out my hand.

"Give me the tracker and the keys to the SUV. I'll go and get it."

"I'll come with you," Ianto offered.

"No!" I snapped, then softened my tone at Ianto's shocked and slightly hurt expression. "I mean, you're more needed here."

After I got the keys and the tracker, I walked out and followed the signal to the SUV. I didn't bother hurrying; I wasn't keen on getting back. Eventually I reached the SUV after an hour's walk and slid into the driver's seat. I should have known better, because as I settled into it I could faintly smell Jack's scent. I leant my forehead against the steering wheel and let a few silent tears trickle down my cheeks.

Why the hell did they have to do that? Why did we pick up this assignment? Why did I find it in the first place? I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready to let Jack know how I felt. Granted, if it had been left up to me, I probably would never have told him. How was he going to react? Oh, I didn't even want to think about that!

Eventually I pulled myself together enough to begin the drive back to the others. It was light by the time I got there, and as I pulled up I saw the place was swamped with police cars and ambulances. I saw Gwen and Owen in the back of an ambulance whilst Jack and Ianto had their heads bent together in an intent discussion. By the way they stopped and looked at me as I got out the SUV, I had a feeling it was about me. Ianto was probably wondering what had got me so wound up that I had snapped at him. Thankfully I knew Jack wouldn't tell him anything.

A hand on my shoulder made me turn around, and I came face to face with Tosh.

"Owen's going with Gwen in the ambulance, and you, me, Jack and Ianto are going back in the SUV. We found your weapons, they're over there by that bench," she pointed and I nodded mutely. Tosh frowned. "Are you all right, Anna?"

I nodded again, but she seemed to know I was lying, and squeezed my shoulder. I tried to smile but couldn't. I just moved towards the bench and gathered up my things. My opal dagger wasn't among them. I couldn't believe I had lost it. I loved that dagger... I loved the man who gave me that dagger.

I put my weapons in the back of the SUV and handed the keys to Ianto, who went to give them to Jack as I slid into the passenger's seat. The rest joined me ten minutes later and we began the long journey home.

* * *

The drive felt much longer than on the way there, but then I realised why – Jack was circling around the roads, making sure no one had escaped the building. Throughout that time the tension in the SUV was so obvious, that not even Tosh or Ianto spoke. I didn't even look at Jack. I couldn't muster up the courage to look at him or even ask him why it was taking so long for us to finally begin the journey home. What would I see in his eyes? Anger? Guilt? Pity?

Would he send me away? Retcon me? I had never taken Retcon in my life. Torchwood had tried to give it to me once but I hadn't taken it. That had been the first time I had seen Torchwood, and Jack had taken an interest in me and then recruited me the next day.

I couldn't go back to my old life. Not after this.

Finally we turned onto the road that would take us home, but that was still a good few hours of driving since we were going to make a stop for dinner. I pulled out my iPod and switched it on, cutting myself off from the rest of them. I didn't know what they were saying to each other, or even if they were speaking at all. I kept my gaze firmly glued to the passenger's side window, gazing unseeingly at the world outside. I hadn't realised I was crying until I felt a tear fall from my face and splash onto my hand. The effects of the entire mission were beginning to get to me, but I couldn't afford to start crying in front of the others. Instead I burrowed down in the seat and pretended to go to sleep, so they wouldn't bother me.

About an hour later I felt Tosh shake my shoulder to 'wake me up,' as the SUV came to a standstill outside a small roadside restaurant. We walked inside in silence and sat down, Tosh and me on one side and Jack and Ianto on the other. Unfortunately Jack was sitting directly across from me, so my gaze kept flitting from the table to the window next to me, avoiding Jack's eye. The waiter came over to take our orders. Tosh and I ordered the lasagne while the guys went for some kind of steak dinner. While we waited for the food to arrive, Tosh and Ianto fell into an easy, quiet conversation. The sound of it made my heart ache. It was the kind of conversation that Jack and I often had instead of this awkward silence we seemed to be stuck in now. I knew Jack wanted to say something to me. He always knew the right things to say. He wasn't like other men. He wasn't like the arrogant men who didn't understand emotions or how to express them. Jack seemed to understand everything that went on around him. He was so in tune to everyone's emotions. In my eyes that was the mark of a good leader – to know how your team are feeling and how they react to things. It was part of what made Torchwood more than a job... it made us a family.

It was getting dark again by the time we got back. We dropped Ianto off at his flat first, and then Tosh. Then it was just me and Jack left in the SUV. We didn't say anything. What could we say? We pulled outside my house and I went to open the door, but then paused.

"I think I'll take that couple of weeks off," I said quietly. I heard Jack sigh and closed my eyes in shame. I was running away and he knew it. He didn't like it when we ran away from our problems. He was disappointed and I couldn't stand him being disappointed in me.

"You might want to take this then," he said finally, sliding something into my line of sight. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what it was... my opal dagger!

I took it from him.

"I thought I'd lost it," I whispered. A movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention and I turned to see my mum standing in the doorway. I don't know what came over me but I shoved my dagger into my bag, jumped out the SUV and ran up the path. My first instinct was to run into my mother's arms, but instead I ran past her and up the stairs, ignoring her concerned calls. I ran into my room and locked the door behind me. I heard the rumble of the SUV's engine outside, as Jack drove away.

"Anna, darling, what's wrong?" I heard my mum call.

"Just a rough day," I said, trying to hide the fact that the tears were now making their way freely down my cheeks.

"I'll make you some hot chocolate," I heard my dad say.

An hour later I was curled up on the sofa with my head in my mum's lap like I used to do when I was a child. My nerves were shot to hell and I was grateful to my parents when they didn't ask what had happened. I couldn't tell them anyway.

I knew I would eventually have to face Jack, but at least now I had a few weeks to prepare what I could say. Eventually I fell asleep, but my dreams were plagued with dark shadows, ice-blue eyes and the addicting sent of spices and sandalwood.


	3. Greeks Bearing Gifts Part 1

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never will

A/N: This is an unbeta-ed version. I tok so long in writing this that i felt i should get it posted ASAP. When i get it back from my Beta i'll re-post it.

* * *

Greeks Bearing gifts

3rd person POV

Jack put down the papers on his desk and sighed. He knew it was useless trying to concentrate. None of the team was up to scratch at the moment and it was all because of one thing... Anna.

Jack knew they were beginning to worry about her. At first they seemed content with the story that he had finally managed to convince the stubborn red head to take a few weeks off for her exams but as time rolled on they had become suspicious. Anna had been away for almost three weeks and hadn't contacted any of them in all that time. It was strange for her not to pop in at some point to say hello or at least call one of the team but there had been complete silence. She hadn't been answering Gwen or Ianto's calls which was unusual in itself but she had even been avoiding Owen and Tosh who were, as far as she was concerned, her surrogate brother and sister. As for Jack's calls ... well he hadn't tried to contact her. He knew she really wouldn't talk to him.

Jack had known Anna found him attractive but... love? That was a big jump to take. Jack had been in love before but love came in different forms. He had loved The Doctor and Rose but that was mainly in a physical sense. He loved his team for their hard work, determination and passion for their work. Anna fell into that group but Jack had know for a while that his fondness of Anna was closer to what his love for Estelle had been than he had ever admitted to himself.

Jack ice blue eyes slid shut as remembered how well Estelle and Anna had got on with each other. His affection for Anna might have had something to do with how much she reminded him of Estelle. When they had finally met their connection had been immediate. Whereas Gwen had been sceptical from the start, Anna had been excited to work a case that involved the supernatural. Jack couldn't help but smile as he remembered Anna remark when he had been telling her and Gwen about how humans tended to make fairies all happy and smiley with cute little wings.

"_Actually Jack if you look at modern day artwork there are more tales of dark, evil fairies than any other. Not everyone thinks of Tinkerbell when they think about fairies." _

She had been so disappointed when she had learned the truth. One of Anna's passions was mythology and the supernatural. Estelle had even given her one of her crystals as a present when Anna had displayed her vast knowledge of crystal properties.

Jack remembered the look on Anna's face when those cannibals had revealed her secret. He couldn't convince himself the cannibals had being lying when her reaction had been so strong. He remembered how Anna had pulled away from him and wouldn't look at him. He had known she was crying and honestly didn't blame her but he wanted to hug her and tell her everything was alright. She had never been scared to touch him before and he didn't want her to start now. Due to long discussions with the rest of the team the entire incident had affected Anna greatly. He remembered the anger that had flashed through him when Ianto had described the way David had been touching her and even got word from Kieran that David had undoubtedly been planning on raping her. He shuddered at the thought of Anna going through something like that. Despite how tough she appeared to others, she was a sensitive girl and she took everything to heart.

Jack sighed and got up, walking out his office and looking at his incomplete, melancholy team. The Hub was too quiet and in the past few weeks there had only been a couple of weavils to handle so they had mostly been stuck doing paperwork. If Anna had been here she would have music floating from her work station or convinced everyone to a game of basketball or even a few childish games like hide and seek. She made the Hub that little bit more fun when there was nothing left for them to do. In a job like this you couldn't afforded to get too serious or the job would consume you.

"Jack?" called Tosh's soft voice pulling Jack out of his thought. He realized the whole team was looking at him.

"Yeah Tosh?" he asked

"We were wondering if you have any idea when Anna's coming back." It was obvious that they had elected Tosh to do the questioning as the rest of the team hung back uncertainly but desperate for any news on their second in command.

"She hasn't been in touch yet." He said shaking his head "I told to take as much time of as she needs" sometimes it frightened Jack at how easily lying to the team had become for him yet Anna would have seen straight through him. It was scary how accurately she could read people but it was handy when the time came for interrogations.

"Well..." Tosh began looking at the team for support which Gwen readily gave.

"We managed to get a copy of Anna's time table and her last exam finished today, four hours ago..." she explained when Ianto cut in

"But the tracker on her car shows she hasn't left the school yet." He said when Owen finally took over the rest of the speech.

"We were hoping we could go to the school and surprise her cause no one else will be there."

Jack looking at his team thoughtfully. They wanted to see Anna again and make sure she was alright. Tosh and Owen had a particularly determined gleam to their eyes. It wouldn't do them any harm to go and see if she was coming back any time soon. He told himself that as boss he was obligated to know what was going on with his staff...right?

"Alright, let go" he said but the rest of the team were already two steps ahead of him as they rushed out the cog door towards the SUV.

* * *

Ten minutes later the team found themselves entering the building where they had first come across their youngest team mate.

"Where do you think she'll be?" asked Ianto

"I think we should follow the music." Said Tosh

As they listened they realized that Tosh was right. There was music coming from the direction of the schools small theatre which was complete with stage and raised seating which wasn't immediately apparent as the five team members slipped into the dark room unnoticed and came across a sight none of them would have imagined seeing.

There on the stage was a 19 year old woman putting her heart and soul into the song she was singing through the microphone in front of her. The team had heard her sing before but she had never performed in front of them. Anna's powerful, trained mezzo-soprano voice emerged from the speakers around the theatre filling the room with the words of the beautiful power ballad.

I have often dreamed, of a far off place  
Where a hero's welcome, would be waiting for me  
Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face  
And a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there someday, I can go the distance  
I will find my way, if I can be strong  
I know ev'ry mile, will be worth my while  
When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road, to embrace my fate  
Though that road may wander, it will lead me to you  
And a thousand years, would be worth the wait  
It might take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back, I can go the distance  
And I'll stay on track, no, I won't accept defeat  
It's an uphill slope, but I won't lose hope  
Till I go the distance, and my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part  
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star, I will go the distance  
I will search the world, I will face its' harms  
I don't care how far, I can go the distance  
Till I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms

I will search the world, I will face it's harms  
Till I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms

The room was silent for a few seconds following the end of the song before Anna finally lifted her head and caught sight of the five people standing at the back of the room. The surprised look on her face said everything. She hadn't even noticed they were there and was embarrassed.

What were they going to say to her now?

* * *

Anna POV

"Alright everyone that's a wrap" I shouted and watched as everyone gathered their things and left, saying good bye to my group and trying desperately to ignore the five figures that were slowly making their way down the other side of the theatre towards the stage. Miraculously, either no-one else noticed them or they just didn't mention them either way I was grateful.

I turned to the side of the stage and began fiddling with the sound system, ejecting the disk and placing it back in the case. I heard the door close for the final time and knew that it was now just me and the team.

I turned round to see the five of them sitting in five of the front row seats, still slightly shocked.

"Hey guys" I said quietly sitting down at the edge of the stage so my legs dangled over the side.

"Where the hell did that come from Anna?" Owen asked incredulously. I couldn't help but smirk as I pointed to the sound system.

"That big thing in the corner with the speakers." I said

"Don't avoid the subject. I was talking about the singing." Owen retorted

"You guys have heard me sing before. Was it okay? What point did you guys come in at?" I asked biting my lip nervously.

"Sweetheart it was amazing." Gwen told me "We came in before you started singing. We've never heard you sing like that."

"How come you never told us?" asked Ianto

"It never came up." I shrugged "It's of no relevance to what we do at Torchwood."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Tosh motioning to the stage

"End of year show. Me and the guys in the drama and music put on a performance every year. We use different artists, make up dance routines and sing different songs. The school orchestra sometimes play a few things as well." I explained. I knew I was rambling but I didn't care.

They were silent for a long time just staring at me. Normally I would have found it uncomfortable but the looks on their faces was just too comical and I started giggling. This seemed to pull Ianto out of his 'trance'.

"So why didn't you tell us?" he asked

"I told you" I replied "It never came up."

"Well that and the fact that if we knew we could make you do some really embarrassing things when we play truth or dare." Interjected Owen.

I bit my lip as Owen hit the nail right on the head. I had learn very early on that for a top secret organisation they were all very fond of games the truth or dare and spin the bottle and I quickly learned why.

In this job if you got too serious it could consume you and play havoc with your head. You could lose all sense of reality and become paranoid about everything. Watching the street and jumping at anything that could be even slightly alien. So it was good to kick back and have a giggle with each other after a really long tiring day. Let's just put it this way, when I first joined Torchwood, Suzie was the only one who wouldn't play... and look how that turned out.

That's what I loved most about this group. They could be the picture of professionals one second...and be acting like seven year olds the next. Jack was the worst for it...

I stopped smiling at the thought of Jack. Since they arrived I had kept my eyes studiously away from him and he had done nothing to draw attention to himself. But I couldn't do that anymore, not after what he had seen. When I sang I tended to put my heart on my sleeve. I had an overwhelming need to see Jack reaction to my singing.

I had told myself that if I spent time away from him then my infatuation with him would diminish. I had felt guilty about ignoring the others and there was no doubt in my mind that that was why they were there now. They had been worried about me.

I let my eyes move slowly to my left until they landed on him... and my theory went totally out the window. He was still sitting in the front row seat; his body was relaxed and yet at the same time had that tense aura that made it clear he would be ready to react at any given moment. His maddeningly perfect hair fell softly into his amused and calculating ice blue eyes while that sexy half smirk decorated his handsome features. That smirk fell away when our eyes connected and I could almost feel his amused mood fall into something a little more serious.

I was aware that none of the rest of the team was paying attention as they fell into animated chatter about the performance. That left Jack and I to have silent conversation. I was begging for the assurance that he had not told the team anything about the real reason I had been away. I wanted to feel safe about coming back to work and be near him. I wanted to know if he would be willing to just sweep everything under the rug and continue like nothing had ever happened.

The look in his eyes almost convinced me but not totally... because I knew the expression which now decorated his features. It was his best _'Are you ready to talk to me now?' _look. I lowered my eyes and sighed.

It was official. I was doomed.

I heard Tosh's beeper go and looked around in interest. She pulled it out and scanned over what the screen was telling her.

"They've found a skeleton in the new building sight across town. There's an odd piece of machinery buried with it that make them think it is our kind of thing." She informed us.

"Alright let's go." I felt the goose bumps rising on my arms as I felt Jack's accent roll around me. I'd forgotten how much his voice affected me.

"Anna? You coming with us?" I heard Owen ask. I turned to look at him with a smile and realised they were all looking at me. I had missed them all so much.

"Of course." I grinned grabbing my bag and leaping off the stage. "Were you guys that lost without me?" I joked when I saw how delighted they were.

However, when they didn't laugh I realised maybe they had felt my absence more than I had anticipated. I immediately felt guilty and smiled tentatively

"I missed you guys too." I said quietly. I realised I had to quickly get a shower and get changed before I left... I was glad they hadn't come in during one of the dancing performances.

"You guys go ahead I'll catch you up at the building sight. I just need to have a shower and get changed."

They nodded and left.

As I exited the school in a fresh outfit I couldn't help but smile. There may still be some tension but I was finally back with the group I fully belonged with. It was with that thought I sped out the car park towards the building sight and our newest assignment.

* * *

"Is it alien?" I heard Gwen ask as I entered the tent to see Owen examining the skeleton that had been uncovered, Tosh pacing about with her scanner and Gwen hovering nearby. Jack was knelt over the strange device that had been uncovered which prompted everyone to call us, he was staring at the readouts of the screen with a frown.

"And how. I'm picking up traces of ilmenite, pyroxene, and even Dark Matter." He told Gwen

**"**Any idea what it is?" she asked

**"**Not a clue. Could be a weapon, or a really big stapler." Said Jack "How's our friend there?" he turned to Owen

**"**She's dead." Said Owen flatly

"Yeah, thanks, Quincy. She?" asked Jack. I had to stifle a giggle. I loved it when they started to wind each other up. You could practically smell the testosterone. Who needs TV when you work at Torchwood? We have enough drama to satisfy anyone.

**"**Judging by the size of her skull." Owen told Jack

**"**How long have they been here, Tosh?" Jack asked.

"From the depth they found them ... 196 years, 11 to 11.5 months. The earth's been disturbed so I'm afraid I can't be more accurate." She told us

"That's okay it's not like we were looking for hours and minutes Tosh." I said announcing my arrival.

"Good you're here." Said Jack "So what do you think it is?"

"If you don't know Jack how am I supposed to?" I asked realising what he was doing. We were to act normal around the others. It wouldn't do anyone any good if Jack and I weren't speaking to each other.

"What killed her? The stapler?" Asked Gwen

"Nah. See those shattered ribs? I reckon she was shot." Owen said pointing to a large hole that had punctured the skeletons ribs and what presumably killed her.

"Well, let's get her back to the Hub and find out." Jack said jumping to his feet and moving out of the tent and in the process moving past me. I tried to stifle the sudden hitch in breath as his scent wafted by my nose. I bit my lip and followed him out silently kicking myself.

I was supposed to be mature and responsible so why was I acting like a lovesick fifteen year old? This was going to be harder than I thought.

Still, as I entered the Hub half an hour later I couldn't help but let a grin spread over my face.

I was home.

* * *

"You're kidding. What happened?" I heard Tosh's slightly hysterical voice ring out across the hub. I looked up from updating my profile due to the new developments in my life and looked over towards Tosh's station.

Tosh was tapping furiously at her keyboard whilst Gwen and Owen looked guiltily at her.

"Okay, so she said I was no good at sport ... Hello? So I said, "Throw something to me and ... " Owen began. What the hell was he talking about?

"What happened to the computer?" Tosh demanded. This was going to be bad.

"Oh. I kicked out the plug." Owen admitted. Yep very bad.

"What? It was running a translation program I'd written." Tosh babbled getting very worked up "I'd collated every scrap of alien language we've got, and broken it down into binary threads to see if there was a common derivation." She was genuinely upset about it.

**"**That's a bit of a mouthful." I heard Owen mutter and Gwen giggled before stopping at Tosh glare. I felt a frown passing over my features. What the hell was going on with those two? They were acting like children.

"Sorry. Private joke. Um, stupid joke." Gwen explain once they got over their laughing fit.

**"**We're supposed to be professionals. We've got a job to do." Tosh cried in frustration.

**"**She's right. You're right, Tosh, I'm sorry." She mumbled as she moved away to her desk. She at least seemed truly ashamed... Owen on the other hand...

**"**Do you know what, Tosh? Sometimes I think even that stick up your arse has got a stick up its arse."

That Jerk!

I watched as Owen took his football and walked away from Tosh's station. Tosh turned back to her computer and began trying to rescue whatever she could from the lost data.

My heart went out to her. She was totally besotted with Owen and he kept on treating her like crap, taking small digs wherever he could. Granted he treated everyone like that but Tosh was in love with him.

I waited till Owen was walking by my desk before I hissed at him.

"Owen! Get over here now!"

He wandered over arrogantly.

"Listen, I don't care whatever little bet you had going with Gwen but don't you _ever_ let me hear you talk to Tosh like that again, you got that?"

"Piss off Anna!" Owen snapped. I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Owen had never talked to me like that. "You fucked off for three weeks and didn't even bother contacting us. What right do you have to just swan in and start ordering us around again?"

I was silent for a while as I let his words sink in. He stood there with a smug smirk on his face... like he had won. I glared at him.

"My right is that I am still your second-in-command. I don't have to justify my time off to you. And besides all that Tosh is like a sister to me and I will _not_ have you disrespecting her. That program sounded really important. If you want to play football go out to the parking lot or down to the shooting range. I don't know what's going on between you and Gwen but right now you are both acting like children."

I may have imagined it but I could have sworn that when I mentioned Gwen's name a look a slight panic crossed his features. Was there something going on between those two?

"Look, think whatever you want Anna but right now I'm going to do some work." Sighed Owen, heavily. He turned and began to walk away.

"I just want my brother back" I said softly looking at the floor. I heard his footsteps falter slightly as he paused then continued without another word.

* * *

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG.

I felt a sense of satisfaction as each of the bullet met their targets. Owens voice chased itself around in my head.

"_You fucked off for three weeks and didn't even bother contacting us."_

I hadn't meant to abandon them. So many times these past three weeks I had battled with myself over wither or not to pop in to say hi to them but I could never bring myself to do it. I had sat in a small coffee shop across the road watching the water tower, occasionally seeing one or two of the team appear or disappear on the lift. There had been that one time Ianto had headed straight for the shop I had been sitting in... I had hidden in the toilets till he left clutching a bag of cakes and biscuits for the rest of the team.

I just... I couldn't stand facing any of them. They would sense something was wrong with me and I really wasn't keen for them to find out what it was. It was better if they didn't know... of course then there was Jack, the source of my troubles.

Why the hell did he have to be the one to know everything? I wasn't ready for him to know... I didn't think I would ever be ready for him to realise my true feelings. Sure we had flirted with each other but this was Jack! He flirted with everything that could walk.

I sighed in frustration and released another round of clips in rapid succession.

"You know those bullets aren't cheap right?"

I froze as I heard his voice from behind me. Had I really been so out of it I hadn't noticed him entering the shooting range? I turned around to face him. He was leaning against the end of the booths that marked the safe area where people could stand without the risk of beings shot, watching me with calculated eyes.

Why on earth had I stayed? Everyone else had gone home. I had assumed he would have made his way up onto the roof of a building by now. But no... Here he was... with me... in the hub... alone.

Shit.

I composed my thought and told myself I couldn't stay silent forever.

"I thought I'd better make sure I was still up to scratch. I've been out of practise recently. The only thing I've kept constant is my bow."

I was true. I hadn't been practising in the full three weeks. The neighbours would probably get freaked if they heard gunfire going off in the garage.

"Yeah they've missed you around here" Jack nodded.

I noticed he had said "_They've_ missed you around here" instead of "_we've _missed you around here."

I had been around Jack long enough to know how he worked. If there was something bothering any one of us then he would to his best to get us to confront it. With Owen and Gwen he could be more direct because they were shy about telling people why they were upset. With Tosh and Ianto a gentle approach was usually best... but with me, well... I could usually dodge the subject so Jack usually resorted into tricking me into telling him what wrong. The problem was with this situation was that... he already knew what was wrong. He just wanted me to talk about it... he wanted me to ask if _he_ had missed me in my absence.

Sorry Jack.

"Come on it can't have been that bad." I said, forcing my voice to be light.

"Are you kidding? Without you around who else was meant to keep Owen in check?" He chuckled moving further into the shooting area.

"I thought that as boss that was your job." I retorted smartly.

"I did." He said lightly "But he tends to listen to you with a bit more grace"

At that sentence I turned and swiftly drew my three knives from my back, throwing them at a single weevil target.

Left knee, stomach, Shoulder

Then drawing my Opal Dagger I went in for the killing stroke...the side of the neck.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"I'm not so sure that he's as fond of me as he was before" I said in a hopeless voice.

"Don't worry about what he said this afternoon. He's just a bit scared by the fact that you seem to be catching on to what's going on between him and Gwen a lot sooner than he would have liked."

"WHAT?" my voice ripped through two octaves "How could Gwen do that to Rhys? I thought she had better sense than that!"

Although it would explain a lot of their behaviour I couldn't believe that Gwen would risk her relationship with Rhys over a fling with Owen. Don't get me wrong I love my surrogate big brother but... he is a womanizer... worse than Jack. Jack flirted with people but it rarely went anywhere. Owen deliberately flirted knowing that he could get women into his bed.

"Why would she do that? Why would she choose Owen?" I murmured looking to the floor trying to work it out in my head.

"That last mission messed with everybody's head I think." Jack offered softly

Why that little...! He found a way to bring the conversation back around to the last mission.

That bastard!

I refused to answer. I just glared and turned away to collect my knives.

"So you say you're out of practise?" I heard him asked.

I turn slightly to see him unbuttoning his deep blue over shirt. I quickly spun back around and ripped the daggers out of the target. I couldn't bring myself to look at him doing that when my fingers had been itching to do it for months. I berated myself as I felt a red stain spread across my cheeks.

I eventually worked up the courage to turn back around. I saw Jack and now removed his boots as well. I frowned in confusion until I saw him dragging two of the training mats to the middle of the floor and line them up together. Suddenly it all made sense... Hand to hand combat.

God kill me now!

Jack stood on the mats and looked at me expectantly. I wasn't getting out of this.

I sighed heavily and toed off my shoes. I moved onto the mats as well, assuming defensive stance. Jack copied my position and watched me closely.

I don't know who delivered the first blow but soon enough we were ducking, weaving and dodging blows from the other.

Jack and I sparring was nothing new. Neither Gwen nor Tosh were very keen on the hand to hand combat so usually Jack or Owen would be my sparring partner. I could normally put up a good enough fight but this time it didn't take long for Jack to start to get the upper hand. His mind was actually on the fight... mine wasn't.

As I ducked a blow from Jack I suddenly had a realisation. I knew why Jack wanted me to fight him... It was a form of contact. Physically violent or otherwise it forced us closer... closer than he knew I was comfortable with at this moment and time... He had forced me to confront it. Just like I suspected he would... And I fell for it. He used his position of power as my boss, knowing I wouldn't disobey an almost direct order from him.

Just as I had managed to process this I felt Jack grab my arm, spin me round and pin it against my back. His knee connected with the small of my back and I went crashing to the floor. He let go of my arm and I managed to brace my weight before my face hit the floor. As I caught my breath I realised that Jack was still standing behind me. In a last desperate attempt to win I kicked out with my right leg and successfully connected with his shins.

As he came crashing to the floor beside me I scrabbled to get up but he was too quick. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist pulling me back down. I struggled against him and we grappled for control of the fight. I tried as hard as I could but eventually Jack gained the advantage and subdued my attacks.

I gasped as my back hit the mat and Jack's weight fell on top of me pinning me down so I couldn't move. All at once I was completely aware of everything. I felt his muscled weight on top on me, his heart beating against mine, his ragged breathing. His body, like mine, was covered in sweat making his addicting scent even more potent. All this was making me light headed until his ice blue eyes connected with mine and gave me a look that made me feel like electricity was coursing through me.

Some small part in the back of my mind registered the fact that if anyone were to walk into the training room at this particular point then it would look very bad from their point of view. I was flat on my back with Jack lying on top of me. Both of us were sweating and panting, our faces were dangerously close.

I turned my head to the side, trying to ignore the feel of him against me. I prayed to god that he couldn't feel me trembling underneath him. He probably could though considering his current helpful position.

"Okay, you win." I said, not looking at him "Now can you get off me please?"

I felt his chest heave as he sighed in exasperation and his warm breath brushed over my face and neck causing goosebumps to rise over my skin. He deliberately rolled his body upwards so his lower body brushed against me as he stood up and I had to bite my lip in order to stop myself from either whimpering or hitting him... I wasn't quite sure which.

I rolled on to my side and quickly stood up. Walking quickly to the other side I gathered my thing and walked as quickly as I could towards the door without breaking into a sprint.

"By the way Anna" I heard him call "I expect you in at 8.30 tomorrow morning."

I turned to face him... and immediately wished I hadn't.

There he was, cool as a cucumber, leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes watching me. His white t-shirt was almost see through because it was drenched in sweat. His biceps bulged due to his crossed arm and his chest still heaved slightly due to the exercise.

The worst thing of all though was the arrogant, self satisfied smirk that had spread its way across his lips. He knew what that encounter had affected me and he was gloating about it in his head.

JERK!

I chased the thoughts of Jack sweating and panting for a different reason out of my head and spun around, walking out the door and leaving a very smug Captain Jack Harkness behind me.

* * *

I walked in the hub at 8:26 exactly the next day. I tried to ignore the piercing alarms that announced my arrival as I removed my coat and scarf and hung them up.

"Hey guys. Anyone in?" I called after the siren had been silenced.

I barely had enough time to register the frantic footsteps behind me and turn round before a frenzied Gwen flung herself on me in a tight hug saying things like.

"You poor thing, I'm so sorry. You should have told us..."

As Gwen rambled in my ear I looked over her shoulder for some help and found the rest of the team looking at me with what looked like pity in their expressions.

"Um Gwen?" I cut through her words and she pulled back to look at me. "Not to seem rude or anything but... what are you talking about?"

She looked at me like I was crazy before finally answering me.

"Your grandmother" she said.

Oh right that. I guess they had checked my profile and found out. Now I understood why they were acting like this.

Two weeks ago my grandmother who lived in Scotland had passed away. She had been my only living grandparent left but honestly I didn't feel the loss.

"Oh that, It's fine Gwen really" I pushed past her and the team and gently hopped up the stairs to go and sit on the sofa. They all followed me and Gwen sat down beside me.

"You don't have to be brave now Anna. We're here for you" she said, adopting her motherly role in the group.

"Gwen I'm really okay. I appreciate your support but I don't really feel the loss."

"But she was your grandmother Anna" Gwen protested

"I know that Gwen and I'm sad sure but... I never really knew her. The last time I saw her I was nine years old. For some reason my parents didn't want me talking to her."

"How are your parents coping with her death?" Asked Tosh who was sitting at her desk. I briefly thought about how strange it was that Tosh was keeping her distance from me but pushed it to the back of my mind.

"Well she was my mum's mum so she's pretty cut up about it other than that I'm not sure. The family are all up in Scotland, that's where the funeral is going to be."

"Will you and your parents be going?" asked Gwen. I bit my lip. They really weren't going to like the next bit of information I had to give them.

"My parents have been there for a week"

"What?" Gwen exclaimed as the other's had various looks of shock on their face "Do you mean to tell us you've been alone in that house for a week and didn't bother to contact any of us?"

I nodded guiltily.

"Why aren't you with them Anna?" Asked Owen.

I couldn't help but still feel sore at his attitude the day before so I couldn't help but be a bit snappish with him.

"Because believe it or not Owen I was planning on coming back to work." I snapped. Owen looked a bit surprised but then I softened my tone "And besides they don't want me there."

"What do you mean they didn't want you there" asked Ianto coming over with my favourite mug filled with hot chocolate. I smiled in thanks and let the heat warm my hands. I couldn't help but notice a small moment in the corner of my eye. I watched as Tosh turn to her desk and fiddled with something around her neck. When she turned back to face us I saw it was actually a very pretty green necklace.

"Apparently there's some trouble with the will. They won't tell me what it is but it's big enough for them to be gone for the next two to four months." I answered

"That's a long time" commented Owen.

"I guess but it means I should have more time for work." I said hoping that would appease him.

"Sweetheart are you sure you're okay about everything" asked Gwen.

"Yes I'm sure" I said, perhaps a bit too sharply. I was thankful that they were concerned but I really just wanted to get to work. They were making too big a deal over it. I really wasn't that bothered. "Please guys can we just get back to work. I'm okay really." I pleaded making sure to keep my voice soft.

"She's right, we should really do some work." Tosh piped up. She must have caught onto how much I didn't want to talk about it.

"Alright then." Said Jack decisively. I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. He'd been so silent I had almost forgotten he was there. "Tosh I want you to start working on that list for UNIT. Gwen, go down to the station and see if you have any more luck in convincing you're old friend into co-operating face-to-face. Owen, get working on those samples from the sixteen victims and Anna... My office."

I took breath and gripped the edge of the sofa with one hand.

'_Why did he does he need to talk to me in his office? Why can't he give me my orders with everyone else... please don't let it be about last night... surely he wouldn't bring that up, would he? Not now... o god.'_

I spotted Tosh looking at me strangely and interrupted my mental rant.

"You okay Tosh?" I asked

"Uh... yeah" She said slowly. I noticed she was fingering her necklace nervously.

"You don't look fine." I pressed

"I am, don't worry about me... you should go Jack'll be waiting for you."

The feeling of slight dread settled in the pit of my stomach again. I nodded slowly and got up, clutching my mug in my hands and walked to his office door. It was left lying ajar as a clear invitation to come in without knocking so I did so.

Jack was scanning some papers on his desk. His shoulders were tense and his hair fell into his hard, stormy blue eyes and his mouth was drawn into a line disapproving line. Evidently the information in the file wasn't good.

"What is it Jack?" I asked, sitting down on the chair opposite and taking a sip of the now slightly cooled hot chocolate, smiling a little as I tasted the small hint of cinnamon that Ianto had added.

Jack looked up at me and passed the file over to me. I placed down the mug and took it, scanning the contents.

There was a list of sixteen names and a note that said they had all dies of the same unknown injury within the last month. Sixteen names... sixteen people dead.

I now knew why Jack was so uptight. Evidently these attacks had been going on for a month and the police had only now just informed us. That meant that they would rather let innocent people get hurt by something they know should be turned over to Torchwood than admit they need Torchwood's help. They probably cheeked every option for turning to use... pride has a lot to answer for.

"Such a waste." I sighed.

"Well they've told us now so now we can do something." Jack said knowing why I had commented

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I want you to do some scouting around. Try and pick up its tracks. Talk to your friends. Students tend to know people, who know people who knows something if you get my meaning." He said and I nodded.

"I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will." He said. Something about his tone made me look up. He was smirking again and the glint in his eye told me he had answered my "what do you want me to do?" question very differently in his head.

I glared at him and stood up gripping my now empty mug and went to walk out the smug bastards office however...

"Anna. I'm not finished with you yet." He called bringing a halt to my dramatic exit. I shook my head rid of the thought of how he wasn't finished with me and turned round to face him.

"Yes Captain?" I asked flatly. He raised his eyebrows at my formal use of his title but walked over never the less and nodded for me to follow him. He led me down through the hub, past the cells and that shooting range till we reached...

"What are we doing in the cold storage?" I asked looking at the rows upon rows of cold, grey doors behind which lay frozen bodies of victim, aliens and torchwood staff alike. The place had always given me the creeps. I felt it was weird working next to the place I knew I would eventually end up in one day.

"I want you to see the end result of these attacks" he said, leading me over to one of the containment units. He pulled open the metal door and I felt the blast of icy sharpness caress the bare skin of my arm that my t-shirt didn't cover.

Jack pulled the sliding tray open and un-zipping the bag.

Inside the white plastic sheet was the body of a young girl. She didn't look that much older than me. I could tell she was pretty. Shoulder length blonde hair, an attractive figure and delicate facial features. She was the kind of girl that you could tell would be the pretty girl next door type. Her whole life ahead of her. A girl like that could have gotten any guy she wanted, grown up and had a happy life. But instead her life was cut short and it was clear what had caused it.

Scattered across the icy white shin were tiny little puncture marks like needle mark. I shivered at the thought. Her body was littered with them. The marks were in circles of about ten... tiny circles of vivid red showing up against snow white.

Suddenly something caught my eye and I leaned in closer to look at it.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked

I had spotted a mark similar to the others on her skin but slightly different. This mark was raised and vivid whereas the others had receded to nothing more than red dots on her skin these ones looked almost like they were infected. I vaguely recognised it.

"That's the point where Owen suspects the first attack was. He thinks there might be a kind of poison in the first bite that paralyzes the victim while the creature feeds." I heard Jack speaking but for once I wasn't listening.

"Oh god." I breathed staring in horror at the mark. I now remembered where I had seen it before.

"What is it?" Jack asked. I looked up at him and for once was not affected by the piercing look in his sharp blue eyes. I was too worried to even notice.

"My best friend has a mark like this."

* * *

I knocked on Hinodes door almost wishing she wasn't going to answer. After I had explained to Jack about Hinode's mark he had insisted that I go to get a sample from her. I did make sense to check it out. As far as we were aware Hinode was the only surviving victim. There was only one problem I was having. I needed to get a sample of her blood... and Hinode was scared of needles. I knew I was going to leave here feeling like the worst best friend in the world.

I had almost turned away when the door opened and Hinode looked out.

Hinode wasn't a lot older than me. 21 years old with mid length poker straight black Hinode didn't look any different from any other 21 year old. However, Hinode had been studying medicine and had graduated her Master's Degree as the youngest in the course. She currently worked in the hospital. I briefly wondered, as I often did how many times she had treated a case that had turned out to be connected with Torchwood.

"Hey Anna." Hinode greeted with slight surprise. I couldn't blame her...Jack and the others weren't the only ones I had been avoiding these last few weeks.

"Hi Hinode, can I come in?" I asked.

"Well...I'm just about to head off to work" She said apologetically. I felt so guilty.

"Um...I actually am working. This will just take a second I promise you." I said.

Hinode's hazelnut brown eyes suddenly became guarded, the flecks of green flashing slightly with fear. Hinode had never questioned me about my work but I was pretty sure having worked at the hospital she had heard stories. Torchwood wasn't really popular with the police and they tending to blame injuries on Torchwoods doings. She had never mentioned this to me and never treated me any differently than when we first met but whenever I mentioned work her eyes became alight with curiosity and suspicion. Now there was a slight tinge of fear to them. She knew by the tone of my voice that I was here for a very good reason... but it probably was a reason I knew she wasn't going to like.

"What is it about?" she asked. Her left hand moved to her right arm and started rubbing at her tan coloured skin. Hinode was Japanese by birth which meant that her colouring was similar to Tosh's.

"The bite mark you got a month ago." I said and she tensed.

"What about it? It doesn't hurt anymore" she insisted rapidly.

"I know. But we've just been handed a case file from the police. There are sixteen other victims...and they're all dead. You're the only survivor."

The fear in her eyes increased but I saw the decision in her face.

"Come in then." she stood aside and I stepped through her door making my way into her living room. Sitting on the coffee table was a slice of toast and butter and a cup of green tea. Evidently I had interrupted her breakfast.

She sat down on the brown leather couch that occupied the room and clasped her hand on her lap.

"So what do you need?" she asked. Being in medicine I figured she'd already guessed I needed a blood sample from her.

"Well..." I began softly. "I need a blood sample." She stiffened but I carried on talking "and I need you to give me an exact account of what happened."

"...Okay" She agreed after a long pause.

"Would it be okay if I recorded your account of it?" I asked holding up a Dictaphone.

She nodded mutely. I switched on the recorder and placed it on the table.

"Alright just take your time." I told her. She took a deep breath.

"I was walking home from work... It was dark... really dark...about two in the morning. I took a short cut through the park to get to my house."

I didn't bother asking her to elaborate on which park. I knew this area like the back of my hand. There was only one park she could have been talking about.

"I heard a noise in the bushes... like twigs breaking... like someone was following me" Her voice was getting panicky and her breathing began to get faster. I reached over and held her hand for support as she remembered.

"I ran...I could hear whoever it was behind me... They... They jumped on me... tackled me to the ground... I felt the pain in my shoulder ...Don't ask me how the bite turned out like this. I don't know" She broke off to wipe a tear from her cheek. I felt my gut clench, I shouldn't have put her through this. I should've gotten Jack to send Owen or Gwen.

"What happened then?" I prompted softly

"He...He left." She paused. It was obvious this had confused her for some time. "He just sprang up off me with an inhuman howl and ran away. I finally got back to my apartment and locked the door. It hurt like a bitch for the next few days but...other than that it hasn't bothered Me." she finished.

I switched off the voice recorder. I dreaded the next bit and looked at her apologetically. Hinode didn't say anything she just turned her back to me, indicating that I was to get it over and done with.

I reached into my coat and took out the needle gingerly, I didn't like holding needles never mind being subjected to them. Taking off the cap I reached gently pulled down the back of Hinode's neckline till the mark was revealed. My rubbing an antiseptic wipe on her skin warned her that I was about to put the needle in and she tensed. I didn't bother to tell her not to. She was handling it a lot better than I usually handled needles.

We didn't speak as the vial filled up with the red substance but I heard her starting to mutter some long and complicated science equation... at least I thought that's what it was. I gathered it was her way of coping.

I quickly put the vial away and the Dictaphone before standing up.

"I'm sorry Hinode." I said hoping she would hear the sincerity in my voice.

She nodded quietly not looking at me. I didn't expect her to. She was probably calming down from the shock. When I was doing that I was usually a sobbing wreck holding on to the first person I felt safe with.

The last time it had been Jack.

I pulled away from that thought. Saying a quick unanswered goodbye to my best friend I made my retreat.

Sitting in my car I took a deep breath. My mind flashed back to something Hinode has said.

"_He just sprang up off me with an inhuman howl"_

I hoped desperately I wouldn't have a reason to admit to her that her attacker in fact wasn't human.

* * *

I stormed back into the hub. I really wasn't happy.

"Hey Anna." Owen greeted me coming up from the autopsy room "Did you get it?"

"Yes Owen. I went to my best friend of five years and stuck a needle in her when I know for a fact the she is just as scared of needles as I am. Yeah I took her blood and left with barely goodbye. That makes me the greatest friend in the world." I ranted going into my coat pocket and retrieving the vial of Hinode's blood sample.

"Anna calm down. The sooner I get these samples run the sooner we can determine if she's in danger okay?" He asked and I nodded.

"You're worried about her. What you've just done could possibly save her life." I turned to see Jack standing at his office door.

"I suppose" I conceded. Jack had a point. If this things venom is in the first bite then Hinode could die. My only worry was... why hadn't the bite affected her before?

"So what do we do now?" I asked. I had to keep busy because if I didn't I would be obsessing about this constantly.

"Owen is going to start running the sample and you are going to help Tosh. She's in the conference room."

"Why? Tosh never needs my help. If she's working on that UNIT list she'll probably prefer to be left alone." I told him.

"Just do it Anna." Jack ordered disappearing into his office.

'_Just do it Anna' _I mocked in my head, as I started to ascend the stairs leading to the conference room. _'I just asked simple question. God you'd think he would know by now that I don't take an order I don't understand till it's explained, but oh no, Captain Jack Harkness must be obeyed at all time with no questions asked.'_

I ran into Ianto on the walkway and he offered me a cup of Jack's industrial strength coffee which I politely declined.

'_Of course only the best for Captain Jack Harkness. Never mind the regular coffee that normal people drink Mr. Immortal has to have the best. I swear Ianto spoils him rotten.'_

I had reached conference room where Tosh was working.

"Hey Tosh, Jack said I was to come and help you" I said, sliding into the chair across from her.

"That's okay Anna I don't need help. And I won't make you do the calculations that make your head explode"

'_oh I don't know Tosh'_ I answered in my head_. 'It might distract me from my current train of thought. That bloody captain with his ice blue eyes boring into me as he pins me down with the weight of his body. The gorgeous smell of him made all the more sexy by the sweat of our workout, the...'_

"Are you okay Anna" Tosh cut through my line of thought "you seem...preoccupied"

"I'm fine Tosh" I said smiling slightly in reassurance

'_Oh that's right Jack send me up to Tosh and I'll spill my heart out to her and you'll have a good laugh about it on the CCTV because you know what'll happen. Tosh asks, I tell, I cry, tosh comforts because that's the one thing you can count on... Tosh will always be there... always the one to pick up the pieces and lean on.'_

"I'm just worried about Hinode..." I started to come up with an excuse but Tosh suddenly ripped her pendant off her neck and flung it down on the table. Had I said something wrong?

"Tosh?" I tried tentatively.

"I'm really busy Anna, I don't need your help. You'll be more useful somewhere else." She said, but what struck me was her tone. Her words were as cold as ice. Something was bothering her.

"Tosh" I tried "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Anna I just need some peace to work." She said sharply.

I blinked in surprise. Tosh had never spoken to me like that. I took the clear dismissal and walked out frowning. Tosh was a polite, quiet young woman who rarely snapped at anyone. I always thought she had the patience of a saint. For her to snap like that meant something was seriously wrong with her.

I came to halt on the stairs as the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. Jack hadn't sent me to Tosh to get me out of his way... he sent me to see if I thought there was something wrong with her... to see if I thought the same thing he did. He hired me because f my instincts and my ability to read people... he didn't want me out of his way... he wanted me to do my job.

I bolted down the stairs, over the walkway past the desks and into Jack's office. He had left the door open which indicated that he had expected me to figure it out quickly. I skidded to a halt just inside the door and turned to close it. Turning to look at Jack I saw he had a small smirk on his face but he still didn't look up from his work. Evidently he'd been right about how long it would take me to figure it out.

I waited until he looked up at me before I actually spoke. When his blue eyes did eventually meet mine I had only three words ready.

"What the hell?"

"She's been like that all day" he said, indicating for me to sit down. "More withdrawn than usual an, jumping at everything and spacing out a lot."

"Jack she just basically told me to fuck off." I told him as I sat down. I could hear my Scottish accent becoming more distinctive as I started to get worked up.

"Like I said she's not acting normal." He answered.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked

"If I knew that I wouldn't be giving you your next task." He said.

"You want me to follow her?" I asked.

"Not exactly. I'm not expecting you to go on stakeout. Just keep an eye on her." He said.

I nodded in agreement. I couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat creep over me. My best friend and surrogate sister could have alien poison slowly killing her, my other surrogate sister was clearly upset about something she wasn't telling anyone about and to top it all off the guy I've been in love with for months was now fully aware of it and. But he wasn't doing anything about it...and while a part of me was relieved by that ... I couldn't suppress the other part of me that screamed at him to say something about it.

But he didn't.

I left his office was barely a word left to say and went to help Owen in the autopsy room.

* * *

Two hours later I was sitting in my car five building down from Tosh's front door. I knew Jack wasn't expecting me to go on stakeout but something was bothering Tosh and I wasn't going to figure out by watching her at the hub. Evidently from the timeline that this started it wasn't at the hub so evidently it must have been her personal life.

I looked down as my phone rang. It was Keith, one of the people I had put on the case about the mysterious attacker.

"Hey Keith." I answered "Did you find anything?"

"Not much but it could be something." He answered with a distinctive welsh lilt to his accent.

"I'm all ears" I said.

"You know that area of the woods all the popular kids go to make out and do drugs?" he asked.

"Yeah by the burn, what about it?" I asked not bothering to get the dig on the new info that those guys really did use drugs as well.

"Well apparently a group of them were up there two nights ago... you know doing their thing but they got disturbed...one of the girl swore she saw something and got spooked. It was getting dark so the rest of them were pretty spooked as well and they all scarpered. Next day they went back cause they had ran without their booze and drugs. Their little camp was completely trashed." He explained. This was the point you knew he was a drama student cause he could help using a spooky voice when telling the story.

"Keith that could have been anything. It is the woods after all there are creatures that live there." I pointed out.

"Yes however, how many of those creatures have three sharp claws. Andrew Montgomery swears it was like Wolverine had paid them a visit." Argued Keith.

"Yeah well he would say something like that." I muttered picturing the dumb jock in my head. "All right Keith thanks a lot I'll have a look into it." I said.

"Okay take care of yourself, Anna." He warned.

"Will do." I assured him hanging up the phone.

Although I was never inclined to believe what the popular group said I had to think that ever they wouldn't go as far as to make something like that up. It was too easy to trace.

I glanced back over to Tosh's and scanned my gaze long the street when something caught my eye. Tosh was walking down the street but she didn't look happy to see the woman who appeared to be waiting for her.

I had been watching her for some time. She had short, dark blond hair, heavy, dark eye makeup. She was wearing a dark purple top and a short black studded skirt, her legs wear encased in purple tights and black, high heeled boots that covered her calves.

I watched as Tosh stopped next to her and started speaking. It was clear that although I could hear her voice it was full of resentment. The blond woman spoke and then Tosh gave a short answer and walked away. As the woman spun round and jumped down from her perch on a stone wall and began walking across the street I grabbed the high tech camera sitting on my passenger's seat and snapped a few pictures. I watched as Tosh entered her house, leaving the door open for her companion to follow her. Once they got inside and closed the door I couldn't see what was going on because Tosh had her blinds closed blocking the view into the house. I reached for my phone pressing speed dial number 1. It was only a few rings before I heard the familiar voice answer.

"Hey Anna, what have you got?" asked Jack.

"A lead on the creature that attacked Hinode and some information about Tosh." I answered, still watching the house for any signs of movement.

"Okay, start with Tosh." He said.

"Well I was watching for her coming home. She eventually got here but someone was waiting for her. Someone I haven't seen before." I started.

"You don't know who she is? That's strange" Jack commented. It was true, Tosh didn't have many friends and the few she did have I had either heard about or seen a picture of. Same went for me with Tosh. She knew all about my friends.

"I know it is. I've never seen this girl and Tosh never mentioned anyone like her to me. Quite frankly Tosh did not seem pleased to see her however; she did leave her door open for the other woman to go into the apartment." I explained.

"What are you thinking?" asked Jack.

"I'm thinking we should be careful. Something about this girl isn't right. Tosh is... afraid of her. She couldn't look at her, kept her eyes averted and body turned away. This girl has some kind of hold over Tosh... and I can't think of anything that is incriminating enough for Tosh not to tell us...unless..." I trailed off as my thought process created another idea.

"Unless..?" Jack prompted.

"... unless it's about ... Torchwood...Maybe this girl knows something about Torchwood."

Jack was silent for a long while as he processed the thought.

"It's a possibility... one question." He eventually spoke.

"What?" I asked

"Do you feel she's in danger?" he asked.

"...Yes." I said going with my instincts. "But we can't help her until we know what that danger is. We don't have enough information to take action yet. "

"Alright so we wait. What was the lead on the creature?" He asked

"Something trashed the spot where the local jocks and popular girls go to drink, make out and drug up. Something spooked them two nights ago and they bolted but they had to go back the next day and clean up the mess in case the cops down a sweep of the woods and found their stuff. When they got their apparently it was a mess, completely trashed. I pointed out it could be any kind of animal but apparently this one had three sharp claws. One of the jock's said it was like Wolverine had paid them a visit."

"Mmmm... do you know where this spot is?" Asked Jack.

"Yeah it's at a bit of the woods near the stream. I was going to head there after I'd finished watching Tosh." I said

"I'll meet you at the road side next to the woods. We'll go together." He said.

"No Jack that's not necessary ..." I started to protest but Jack cut me off.

"Yes it is Anna. If that thing is still around then you won't be able to take it on alone." He said sternly.

"We've never seen it before how do you know I won't be able to take it?" I argued.

"Meet me at the roadside. That's an order." Jack snapped and hung up.

I took my phone away from my ear and looked down at it. I want to be mad at him but instead I found myself feeling suitably sheepish.

It was standard protocol that two agents were sent to an unknown alien dwelling. There shouldn't have been a need to argue but I could help it. I didn't want to be near him... and he knew it. He knew too much for me to be comfortable around him.

Had things been normal there would have no need for him to directly order me. We would have checked out the sight and had a laugh about it. The working relationship between Jack and I had been good from the beginning. I questioned his authority but he quickly found out if he explained the reason for my order I would do it quite happily. And if I wasn't comfortable about I would still do it but he would definitely know over the period of the next few days that I was extremely unhappy about it.

I sighed and took one last look at Tosh's front door before starting the car and driving off towards the woods.

* * *

When I pulled up behind the SUV Jack was already out and leaning against the side of the vehicle studying his wristband intently. As I approached him he didn't even look up before he started speaking.

"Well something's been around here but the signal faint. I expect it will get stronger once we reach the sight." He looked up once he finished speaking.

"Right then, follow me, it's a bit of a walk." I said stepping onto the path that led down into the shaded area under the trees.

We walked in an uncomfortable silence for about five minutes before Jack spoke up.

"What I don't get is why they picked a spot so far inside the wood that it takes this long to get to. Don't they just want to have fun?" he asked.

"Yes Jack but they learned quite quickly that the police do quick sweeps of the woods to check that there is no-body is around here doing drink and drugs. However they don't tend to go far into the woods mainly because they can't be bothered. Occasionally they do a full sweep but it's not often." I explained turning off the marked path and working through the trees and bushes that grew thickly on either. I could hear Jack following closely.

"I thought kids like this didn't care about getting caught by the police." He commented.

"Only some of them don't but most of these kids are from the rich part of town. If they're caught by the police and brought home by the police then mummy and daddy won't buy them that brand new expensive car for their twenty first. You know the type. Seemingly perfect? Thin girls and well built boys. Good at sports or cheerleading but when you actually try and speak to them they're as thick as two short planks and do nothing but point out about how they're better than you." I ranted.

"Ah, the joys of secondary school." He said sarcastically.

"Please I can't wait to be shot of that place. Although technically now I don't have to go back except for rehearsals" I said thoughtfully.

"When's the show?" Jack asked.

"Please like I'm telling you or anyone else on the team." I said dryly.

"Aww why not?" he whined playfully.

"You know perfectly well why not." I said.

"We wouldn't do much to embarrass you" he promised.

"I'm not taking the chance." I said as we finally came to the clearing. "This is it."

"No kidding." Jack commented ,drawing level with me.

Keith had been right. The whole area had been completely trashed. The logs which had created the seating circle had been flung about the place. Some were smashed in two while others hung precariously out of the overhanging trees. Glass bottle were smashed all over the place and various syringes littered the group sparsely.

What was most worrying of all was the claw marks scattered across the trees surrounding the area.

"Oh my god" I whispered moving into the circle.

"Be careful" Jack said indicating the glass scattered around us.

I moved over to one of the trees and ran my fingers over the deep markings that ran across the bark. They were very thin but evidently whatever made them was strong enough to cut through the resistance of the bark.

I took my camera and began photographing the chaotic scene in front of us. As I was taking a shot of one of the logs something caught my eye.

"Jack, come here. I think I've got something." I called out.

I heard Jack turn round then was startled when he yelled.

"Anna, behind you!"

I spun around just in time to see a pale green mass heading straight for me. I caught a glimpse of razor sharp teeth and long sharp claws before the thing collided with me. I went tumbling over the log and I felt a sharp pain penetrating both my back and stomach. As lay on the ground I heard three shots and whatever it was on top of me rolled off and disappeared.

As I lay on the ground panting in agony I was aware of Jack running past me trying to follow the thing or at least make sure it was away for now. I tried to focus my mind and analyse my injuries. I arched my back ever so slightly and was rewarded by a fresh wave of pain that made me gasp sharply. Apparently when I tumbled over the log I had landed on a pile of broken glass. I could feel few shards piercing through the skin of my back. As the muscles in my stomach contracted with my rapid breaths I became aware of another pain. Moving my forearm gently I ran my hand across my stomach. I was dismayed to feel torn skin and I felt a damp moisture coating my palm and fingers. I screwed my eyes up afraid of what I would see as I slowly raised my hand into my line of vision.

A felt the terror rising in my heart as the red liquid dripped from my fingertips out of my line of vision but I felt the small splash of the red liquid as it hit the pale skin exposed by my torn t-shirt. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths trying to calm and clear my mind. The wounds were painful but they didn't feel deep. I tried to move but the glass surrounding me put a stop to that plan as I felt more shards pressing threateningly against my skin.

After a few minutes I heard Jack returning.

"Dammit." I heard him curse as he moved next to me.

"There's ...there's glass in my back." I gasped out. "I...I can't...I can't move."

"Okay I'll get you to the SUV. We'll call Owen and have him meet us at the hub." Jack said as he moved to lift me.

"Wait!" I exclaimed and he paused. "The log... There's a liquid on it...i think...it's the creatures...venom. Get a ...sample for Owen."

"Anna you're bleeding. We need to get you to the hub." He argued.

"I've been...bleeding for the last few...minutes...I can last a few more seconds."

I saw the brief battle going on in his head before he made his decision. He knew I was talking sense. Owen could run experiments which could potentially tell us if the venom was poisonous to Hinode... or me. If the venom was also somehow injected through the claws then I could potentially be infected. A sample of the venom could provide us with an antidote. Failing that Tosh could use the venom to try and get a fix on the species or at least be able to tell roughly where it was from.

As Jack spent as little time as possible I took time to mentally prepare myself for more pain. I was totally aware that in order for me to get back to the SUV Jack would have to carry me. That meant move my body...which meant a lot more pain.

Within a minute Jack was by my side again, placing the vial of venom in his pocket as he did so.

"Anna I'm going to lift you now." He warned.

"Just...keep away...from the centre of my back." I pleaded grimacing in pain. My eyes were already glazed over with water as I tried not to cry from the agony.

Jack leant down over me and hooked his right arm under my knees while his left arm gently lifted my head and neck to slip under my shoulders. I raised my arms to hold onto his strong shoulders and took a deep breath to brace myself for the renewed shot of pain. Jack maintained eye contact with me and silently counted to three. As he lifted me into arms I let out a cry of pain which faded to a whimper as the tears finally broke loose of their encasement and trickled down my cheek.

Jack made gentle soothing noises to try and calm my nerves as he stood and began hurrying away from the site trying not to jostle me too much. My hands slid up to wrap around his neck as I tensed against the pain. I was aware that my bloodied hand was marking the skin on his neck and the blood slowly dripping from my back and stomach were doing nothing for his coat and shirt.

Ten minutes later we emerged from the trees and Jack hurried to the SUV opening it and laying me down in the back seat so I could lie on my side without needing to aggravate my back or stomach. Jack then got in the driver seat and sped off. I could hear him trying to contact Owen through the headsets it took him a couple of tries before he finally got an answer.

"Owen get out of whatever shady bar you're currently in and get back to the hub. Anna's been injured. She's got glass in her back and claw marks on her stomach." Jack continued to talk but I stopped listening. All I could manage to stop was stay completely still. I tool some deep breaths and tried to clear my mind. It was a method I used to calm down. It helped me go to sleep most night or distract me from any events I didn't want to think about... like the searing pain in my back.

I opened my eyes again when I felt the vehicle judder to a halt. Jack got out and scooped me up again trying to be careful of my injuries but I couldn't help but whimper again at the movements. Jack carried my through the garage which led directly onto the weapons room and through the hub.

"How is she?" I heard Owen's voice from across the room.

I looked to see him waiting for us in the autopsy room. Evidently he had been close by.

"There's not a lot of bleeding so they shouldn't be too deep but the glass still has to be removed." Jack informed him as he carried me down to the operating table and placed me on it gently.

"Alright Anna drink this."Owen instructed holding a glass of water to my lips.

I tilted my head up and drank deeply until all the fluid had gone. I listened as Owen examined my injuries and Jack began explaining what had happened until five minutes later I felt my eyelids begin to flutter shut. It then didn't take me long to realise the Owen had put sleeping powered in the water. I didn't bother trying to fight it as I felt darkness take me over and pull me into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

I jolted awake with a start, looking around wildly.

I was in my room at home. The curtains were drawn and it was pitch black outside. A sideways glace to my bedside clock told me it was 1 o'clock in the morning.

Gradually I became aware of the dull ache in my back and stomach. Painfully sitting up I lifted the hem of my top. Wrapped all around my midriff was a long pristine white bandage. Underneath it I could feel the cotton pad meant to soak up the blood.

"Owen says you extremely lucky." Jack spoke from the shadows making me jump.

I looked around at him as he got up from his position seated at my desk and made his way over to the edge of the bed. How could I not have noticed him? Now I was aware of his presence I became aware of his smell penetrating every inch of my room. He had obviously been there a while.

"You'll be fine in a few days. There's some painkillers beside you." He said indicating my bedside table again. He waited patiently while I took them gratefully. Owen, as the doctor of Torchwood, always managed to get the best painkillers around.

"How are you feeling?" asked Jack.

"Stiff and tired." I croaked then I remembered something. "The water was drugged."

"Owen suspected he may have to use a needle."Jack explained. "He thought it would be best sending you to sleep rather than scaring you which could cause you to further damage your injuries."

I paused.

"Makes sense." I said finally. I was never happy about being drugged without my knowing which is why the team had never tried anything like that on me. However, when weighing the options of being put to sleep and being awake knowing I was about to have a needle stuck in me... I probably would have preferred sleep.

It suddenly dawned on me that Jack was alone with me in my bedroom. Moreover, it was the first time he had seen my bedroom. I couldn't help but feel a little self conscious. In the corner of the room was a pile of laundry I hadn't got around to putting in the basket. The walls contain pictures I had drawn of my favourite animals or characters from Disney films or anime's. My bookshelf consisted of romance, fantasy and even some erotic novels and my desk and dresser displayed more of my hopeless romantic traits. A pile of CD's of all kinds of music stood stacked against my stereo.

"Um..." I started gnawing my lip. "How long have... you been in here?" I asked. I didn't want to seem rude but for Jack of all people to see my room was a bit embarrassing for me.

"5 hours." Replied Jack simply.

"You waited all that time?" I asked quietly.

"I didn't want you waking up not knowing what happened." He replied.

"Thanks Jack" I replied in no more than a whisper.

I was honestly grateful. It was an embarrassing secret of mine. I could face down aliens. I could go down dark sewers where I knew a weevil could be waiting around the corner ready to tear my throat out. But the one thing that terrified me... was sleeping alone in an empty house.

I never knew what it was but something about it scared the life out of me. I slept with my opal dagger under my pillow usually but even since my parents left for Scotland I had been sleeping with my gun near me as well. Call me paranoid but I couldn't help it. I was terrified of being alone. It was a character flaw of mine I knew. I had a clingy personality. I got attached to people way too easily and that was dangerous in this job. I needed people around me to feel safe. I could get by on my own if I had to but it was easy in the day.

Night was a different story.

Night was silent...cold...deadly.

I shivered.

Jack still kept silent as I got my head together. Eventually I spoke.

"So what did Owen say about the injuries?" I asked

"Well, he said you were lucky. Despite how much blood you lost the damage was minimal. You must have moved just on time when you saw it coming towards you. It brought you away from its first calculated attack. As for the glass, Owen managed to get all out. None of it penetrated any vitals. Mostly it's all just flesh wounds. You should heal up in a few days." He explained as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

I stiffly brought my legs up to my chest and curled my arms around my knees.

"You were right then." I murmured.

"What about?" He asked. At first I thought he was pulling one of his "I know what you're talking about but I want to hear you say it" things but when I looked at him there was a genuine question in his eyes.

"I needed you." I explained quietly. "I probably would have been killed if I had gone alone."

Jack was quiet. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I knew my sentence had been loaded with an under lying meaning. I did need Jack. Ever since I had found Torchwood I had run to Jack whenever I felt I needed help. Whenever I felt alone or threatened it was always him I felt safe with. Unfortunately that was when I could be in the same room as Jack without feeling uncomfortable... I was before he knew about my feelings for him... before everything changed.

After a few minutes of extremely uncomfortable silence Jack spoke. A part of me was dismayed to hear him assume his professional voice...the other part was grateful.

"Owen says you've to take the next few days off until you've healed." He ordered.

"But I've just come back" I protested.

"Tough luck. You're banned from the hub until you're healed." He said. I could tell from his face he wasn't going to give up on this.

"Aright but promise me one thing." I said in resignation.

"What is it?" he asked and I was ashamed of my surprise at the softening of his voice.

"Promise me you'll get that thing for me." I asked.

Normally I would have liked to get it myself but there was no way I would be in any fit state to hunt it for a few days. I didn't want that thing running around any longer than it had to be. Jack smiled a bit.

"I promise. Now get some sleep." He said.

I don't know how I did it but I managed not to call him back and beg him to stay with me until I fell asleep. I sat quietly on my bed until I heard the front door click shut and the purr of the SUV as it drove away.

I slipped out of bed once Jack had gone. Movement was painful but bearable. I slowly went downstairs and made myself a hot chocolate, taking it up to the bathroom with me. After an hour soaking in the warm water the eased my tired body I felt ready to sleep again.

As I slipped under my covers in my sky blue boy shorts and a black tank top I began thinking. I sure as hell wasn't going to subject myself to staying indoors again. I could still do surveillance on Tosh and I could still ask around for information on the creature.

I fell asleep in a happier mood then I had been in all day.

I might be banned from the hub... but I sure as hell wasn't banned from the streets.

* * *

Do me a favour people. Please review and i'll love you all forever. xxxxxxxx


	4. Greeks Bearing Gifts Part 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own torchwood. And unfortunately never will.**

**A/N: Again sorry for the wait. I use life and writers block as my excuse. Hopefully this will make up for it. love to all my lovely (very patient) readers. **

* * *

My eyes fluttered open, protesting against the morning light. I groaned and rolled over and was jolted awake by my injuries screaming in protest at the movement. Evidently the pain killers had worn off. I looked at the clock to see it was half past ten. I groaned and struggled painfully into a sitting position blindly groping the bedside cabinet for more pain killers. After swallowing them gratefully I struggled out of bed and painfully padded down the stairs for breakfast.

Sitting at the breakfast table I pondered what to do. I was banned from the hub but there was still things I could do. Tosh still needed watched over as did the girl she was with. I knew that at 10 o'clock in the morning Tosh would probably be in work already so that meant I could drive by her house to see if the other woman was still there. If she wasn't I could wait outside the hub till Tosh left then follow her to see if she met up her.

I moved slightly and a jolt of pain shot through my stomach and back, evidently the new dose of painkillers hadn't set in. I should probably stay indoors till they kicked in. I looked around for what I could do. I wanted to start hunting the alien that attacked those people. I could start a profile of its behaviour and narrow down its territory due to where victims were found and where it's been sighted. But Jack had the case notes.

It was then my eyes fell on the black folder on the table. I smiled slightly. I knew what I could do.

I curled up on the sofa with the book and sat the instruments next to me. I pull out the sheaf of papers and flicked through each one studies them, looking for any flaws. Finding I was happy with them I turned my attention to my latest project. I pulled the paper out from the hidden pocket in the back of the folder. I looked at the black and white outline. I had started this picture so many times but somehow I could never get it right. I settled down and began my work. I wanted to get everything right...the delicate look of a midnight feather, the sculpted shape of toned muscle, a whisper of long red locks and the bright fullness of the moon.

I worked for an hour and a half before I was startled from my work by the post arriving. I looked at the time and realised that it was already 1 o'clock. I tested out the pain factor in my body and it was bearable so I stashed away my work and went upstairs to get ready .

A quick shower later I pulled on a pair of loose black trousers and a black strappy top with trainers. I flung my camera, voice recorder, opal dagger and gun in my bag before going downstairs and grabbing the medication for later. Then grabbing a dark hooded jumper I left my house and got into my car.

As I drove away I could help but smiling.

Jack and Owen would kill me when they found out.

* * *

I pulled up outside Tosh's house. Sure enough there was no sign of her car so she had to have been at Torchwood. I grabbed my bag getting my camera and gun out. I got out the car discretely slipping my gun into the waistband of my trousers. I made my way over to the building and with a quick scan to make sure no one was watching disappeared into the ally that lead to the back of the place. I snuck round to the back window and crouched low. I desperately tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my stomach as it protested the position.

Steeling myself I leaned up to try and get a look inside...and I ducked straight back down. The woman was lounging on the sofa watching TV. She was wearing a short, blue, silk dressing gown and what looked like not much else. A lit cigarette was precariously held in her fingers.

Being extra careful I pulled myself up again to look in. She seemed engrossed in what she was seeing on the television screen. I raised the camera making sure the flash was off and snapped a few photos. I saw her head twitched and ducked down again just in time before she looked at the window. I pressed myself flat against the wall and looked up. I saw her approach the window and lean against it trying to see if there were any intruders. I held my breath and willed myself to stay still ignoring the pain that seemed to make my muscles want to spasm. Maybe Jack had been right forbidding me to go out. I watched until I couldn't see her anymore. I counted to five then slowly moved onto my knees and rose into a crouching position and peeked over the ledge of the window sill.

And fell back with a yell.

She was there. She saw me. But it wasn't her... she was an alien!

I scrambled to my feet and bolted as fast as I could adrenaline keeping the pain at bay I raced out from behind the row of houses and was just crossing the street to my car when I heard her shouting. She was screaming to passers by that I had stolen from her and screaming for people to stop me. I saw two guys run for me and I just managed to get to my car and fling the door open. I drove inside and started the ignition when one of the guys reached the car. I really didn't want to have to pull my gun on a civilian. I revved the engine warningly and it did the trick as the people started to back off. I slammed my foot on the pedal and tore out of the street.

I felt my heart thumping in my chest as I drove. Then another pain started to hit me. I put my fingers to my stomach and cursed as I felt blood. My stitches must have burst. I drove home trying to keep calm. The bleeding wasn't that bad.

I let myself in the house and dumped my stuff in the hall. I struggled upstairs pulling off my hoody and top. I got into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror in my bra looking at the damage. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was only a couple of stitches. Although it was from one of the bigger cuts and it was bleeding quite a bit. I rinsed a cloth cleared away the blood. Then came the bit I was dreading... stitching myself back up. Last time I got stitches I fainted when I felt the thread going through my skin.

Just then I jumped as the door slammed open and I heard boots in the hallway

"Anna!"

I cringed. It was Jack. And he was not happy. I heard his boots ascend the stairs obviously following the trail of blood and clothes I had left behind. I crept to the door peeking round it to see him. I paused as he saw me. I knew all he could see was a part of my left side but it was obvious I was only in my bra and trousers. I kept quiet allowing my hair to cover some of my face in shame so I wouldn't have to look at him fully. Very rarely had Jack been truly angry at me but when he was...i got scared.

Jack was quiet too, taking in the evidence of my "adventure". When he did speak it was with a scarily quiet voice.

"I told you to stay away from assignments till you healed" he said, his blue eyes flashed in annoyance "you disobeyed a direct order."

I bowed my head.

"Well actually what you said was that I was to stay out the hub. I didn't disobey you...i just...looked for a loophole." I tried to justify my actions. Usually I would have been more defiant with my words but considering I was standing there in my bra I was feeling very defenceless.

"The implication was there Anna you were to stay off the line of duty till you wounds had healed enough for you to work again" he said now having reached the top of the stairs.

A drop of blood sliding down my waist alerted me once again to my pervious predicament.

"Look Jack I'm in a bit of a spot here so can I clean up and then up can shout at me?" I asked.

"What happened?" He asked moving forward in concern.

"One of my stitches burst when I was running. It's only small but I'm still bleeding a bit and I have to tie it off again" I explained.

He moved forward ushering me into the bathroom. I moved back confused.

"I remember what happened last time. If you try and do it yourself and you faint you'll end up doing more damage. Now where are the supplies." He asked.

I opened the cabinet and pulled out a little sky blue wash bag.

"In here." I said quietly. I could feel myself becoming a bit lightheaded. My mind had raced forward to what was coming.

Jack would have to redo three off the stitches...which meant removing the thread...which meant needles.

I breathed deeply trying to calm down. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at him.

"Come on." He instructed taking in my appearance. "You should be lying down"

I shook my head.

"I am not going to be responsible for getting blood out of my parents' carpet. It can be cleared away easier with the tiles" I said stubbornly and sat down propped up against the tub. "This will do."

Jack sighed but crouched down next to me shedding his coat. He reached into the bag and I looked away knowing if I saw the needle I'd freak. I heard him take the thread, needle, scissors and tweezers out of the little bag. It was a little personal kit I had made up at Owens command that each of us have one in case we needed stitched up out on the field and we couldn't get to the hub.

Jack stood up and disappeared out the door. I frowned in confusion but then it made sense when I tracked him by ear going into the kitchen. I waited till he came back up with boiling water to sterilize the equipment...of course by this time I was on the verge of tears...the worst part was the waiting.

He knelt down beside me and placed the metal objects in the water to sterilise them...Then he surprised me...he turned and gathered me in his arms holding me tight against his chest. I clung onto him out of fear. He made soothing, comforting noises in my ear and I froze.

My mind flashed back to when I first realised...it was like this...he was holding me...when I realised that...

I blinked and Jack pulled back looking at me in concern.

"You ready?" he asked. I nodded even though he knew I wasn't.

He got the equipment ready and I looked away to the far wall gripping the edges of the sink and bath in terror the tears starting to leak down my cheeks...I hated being so weak.

I tensed as I felt the tweezers take hold of the old thread and pull it out of my skin. My head swam a bit but I breathed deeply and focused on the cold tile I was sitting on.

I did the same with the others.

Then I felt it. The needle pressing into my skin and a sob broke out through my tears. Jack didn't say anything this time. He just pushed the needle through the other side and pulled the thread through.

I knew it was happening.

My vision narrowed to the bath tap faucet.

I started seeing black spots.

I felt dizzy and nauseous.

"Weevil Pancakes" I muttered before falling into a dead faint.

* * *

I woke up with a start. Blinking rapidly I looked around. I was lying on the couch of my parent's living room. A glass of water and two painkillers were on the table next to me. I sat up as quickly as I could swallowing them and slumping back against the cushions. I closed my eyes waiting for the drugs to kick in.

"Weevil pancakes?" I opened my eyes and saw Jack sitting on the armchair opposite the couch. He was holding a mug of coffee relaxing back against the cushion...it had been a while since I'd seen Jack relaxed.

It was strange seeing him like this. It seemed so ...normal.

I looked down at myself to see Jack had put a fresh t-shirt on me after he'd finished stitching me up. I tried not to think about Jack going through my wardrobe.

"What?" I asked addressing his question.

"Weevil Pancakes" he repeated with a smirk evidently trying not to laugh "It's what you said before you fainted"

I looked at him stunned for a moment before laughing.

"Sorry I don't remember" I laughed before stopping abruptly as my wound complained loudly with a short sharp burst of pain. I winced, a hand flying to my side.

"You ok?" Jack asked watching me carefully.

"Yeah" I nodded "Just a bit tender...are you going to tell Owen?" I asked glancing up at him.

"Why?" He asked cocking his head to the side, smirk firmly in place "afraid he's gonna keep you bed bound?"

"Yes" I said frankly. Owen tended to be over protective when it came to me. After he found out what happened today he just might keep me on bed rest till I heal fully.

I was quiet for a long time and Jack was in no hurry to break the silence. I hugged the shawl from the couch tighter around me and watch the news flashes come up on the TV screen. Despite myself I couldn't help but feel relaxed. I was happy I could once again be in Jack presence for an extended amount of time without it getting awkward.

Eventually I spoke as a thought occurred to me.

"Jack?" I asked and he turned to look at me again. "You got here awfully fast. I'd only just got in the door." I said and he nodded. I knew he was fully aware of what I was asking but like always he had to make me work for it. "How did you know I had gone out?"

"Seconds after you left the scene the police were getting phone calls about an attack on Toshiko's street. They read out your licence plate. And as you know any personal information about Torchwood employees such as licence plate and street name get immediately—"

"—redirected to Torchwood" I finished cutting him off. It made sense now. "Does that mean Owen knows?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I was the one who got the call. I followed what had happened on the street cameras before leaving the hub."

"Won't they be expecting you back? I was out for a while right?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Fine, be like that. " I said, pushing myself up painfully and making my way through to the kitchen.

"I called Owen and told him to take over for a while. He didn't ask questions so they know I won't be back" I turned to see him standing in the kitchen doorway. I clicked on the kettle readying a mug for some hot chocolate.

"Alright…. Why did you stay?" I asked. It had to be asked but I knew why he had stayed…..and I knew what I was going to have to tell him.

"I want to know what you found out." He said confirming my knowledge.

I sigh heavily and moved past him into the dining room clutching the hot chocolate in my hands. I used one hand to pick up my pad and pencils and walked to sit on the couch placing the mug down on the table beside me. I knew Jack was following me with calculating eyes.

"I went over because I was sure Tosh would be at work. The way she and that girl were acting I wondered if the girl had stayed." I started tucking my legs up underneath me and opening the pad carefully to a blank page.

"Yeah I saw her on the street camera's when she was shouting at you" he nodded.

"Yeah well…..I think I shocked her as much as she shocked me." I said quietly starting to sketch.

"Meaning?" he asked.

I hesitated. The girl had been in Tosh's dressing gown, smoking in the living room watching TV…very….domestic. What if Tosh really liked her….was I about to ruin Tosh's relationship? Jack sensed my hesitation immediately.

"Anna what did you see? I know it startled you otherwise you wouldn't have run." He asked and I cringed to hear the "Boss voice" coming back.

"Jack….I think…" I started hating myself for every word coming out my mouth "….I know…she's an alien." I bit my lip…no going back now.

He was quiet for a long time. I continued sketching roughly keeping eyes trained on the page.

"You're sure?" he asked.

I quietly recounted my adventure describing what had happened in vivid detail. He was silent throughout the whole thing. I knew he was listening but his eyes were focused on the pad. He knew what I was doing and was waiting for me to show him.

"…so I ran. She'd seen me. She was waiting for me to look back up again. I jumped the fence and ran through the ally to get to the street and drove off… for a second I was scared I'd have to pull my gun on the civilians but they got the message when I started the car." I finished putting down the pencil and ripping out the page handing it to him.

I watched his eyes take in the image of the alien form on the paper. A long, slender, ghost like form. Floating tendrils of hair. Black eyes. Mouths that remind me of a sting ray.

"This is what you saw?" he asked turning the page round. I nodded.

"It's just a preliminary drawing…but basically yeah. Do you recognise it?" I asked.

"Never seen it before. But it might be related to the Arkan's." he said.

I went silent again trying to convince myself I'd done the right thing by telling him.

"What is it Anna?" Jack asked cutting through my thoughts.

"Jack….she was in Tosh's house…alone…in her dressing gown. Watching TV. Smoking." I explained and he cocked his head slightly to the left still not getting it.

"…What if…" I began but trailed off.

"What if Tosh slept with her?" he asked.

"I am almost 98% sure she did but….what if Tosh really likes this woman?" I asked and Jack went silent. "I…I would never interfere in Tosh's love life. She rarely gets any attention from the outside world but. If this woman is using her to…." I trailed off almost having revealed my big suspicion. Unfortunately Jack was smart enough to guess.

"You think this woman is using her to get into Torchwood?" He asked, but I didn't need to answer.

Jack was silent as he tried to think of a plan.

"Anna, no one else knows of this apart from us so we're not going to let anyone else know until we have more information. Keep going as usual, is that understood? Don't let on that you're suspicious otherwise…"

"…She'll pull away." I cut him off finishing his sentence glumly.

"Come on Anna. It'll be for her own good in the long run. We can save her I promise." He vowed and I looked at him.

"Can we save her heart?" I asked.

He didn't answer. I didn't expect him too. We looked at each other coming to a silent agreement to lay low and look out for Tosh.

"By the way I thought you might like to know about that skeleton." He said changing the subject.

"The one at the building site?" I asked "the girl that got shot?"

I was surprised when Jack smirked

"Not exactly. Turns out Owen was wrong with the initial conclusions at the building site" he said chuckling a bit. "Gwen had a good time laughing at him."

I could feel my expression darkening before I could stop it at Gwen's name. I still was furious at what she was doing with Owen. I wouldn't care so much if she didn't have Rhys at home but she did. Now she'd got her claws into Owen….and I had a suspicion she was beginning to set her eye on Jack. Honestly how greedy can one girl get?

I shook my head and bit my tongue to stop the train of thought and focused back on Jack.

"Well it's like you always tell me. We all make mistakes" I said. "At least he corrected it. Besides, do we know for sure if it's got anything to do with the device we found?"

"Not for sure but something about it's bothering Owen." He said.

That was the great thing about having Jack as a boss. He encouraged us to listen to our instincts and allowed us to follow them.

"And the device?" I asked.

"Ongoing." He said simply. I nodded accepting he wasn't going to tell me anything yet.

Jack stood up and headed for the door. I followed him watching as he put on his greatcoat.

"Anna, I mean it this time, don't leave the house until you're healed" he warned.

"But Jack!" I started to argue.

"No buts Anna. You're staying in until you heal." He said firmly. I fumed before stepping back to take a breath and calm down.

"Compromise?" I offered and he crossed his arms expectantly. "I continue following Tosh but I stay in the car. I don't get out, I don't interfere. You send Owen over here with the information we have on the creature and I continue doing scanning work to see if I find anything. All low key no running around work. I won't go back in the woods I swear it."

Jack was quiet for a while pondering it over my proposal. I bite my lip looking at him hopefully. I needed to do this. If he said know I would go stir crazy with boredom.

"Alright" he finally agreed. "But if you go out you tell me where ok? I don't want you going awol again and us not being able to find you."

I agreed quickly.

Jack nodded curtly before sweeping out the front door. I stood on the front step watching him leave. I couldn't help but smile. Things were finally getting back to normal.

* * *

I smiled happily as I bounced into the hub three days later. I turned to the coat stand hanging up my black trench coat shouting.

"Hey I'm back."

Immediately I heard footsteps behind me and turned in time to return the hugs as Gwen leapt on me. I laughed; even though I was still annoyed at her I missed her. I missed the hub whenever I was gone from it and lately I had spent less and less time there.

Moving further into the hub I was greeted with hugs from Owen and Ianto. I looked around for Jack and Tosh.

"They're in Jack's office." Owen said. I turned to see Tosh handing Jack a folder of paper.

"Thanks Owen. Can I talk to you? It's about Hinode." I asked.

He nodded and led my down to the autopsy room. The skeleton was still laying there.

"How's our guy?" I asked nodding to it.

"Difficult" He said. Owen had explained the mistakes when he'd dropped off my work.

"Still not getting anywhere?" I asked and he shook his head.

He rifled through the files on one of the surfaces and handed one to me.

"I can't find anything wrong with her." He said "the venom isn't affecting her for some reason. Not saying it's a bad thing mind you. It's just confusing. We've got 16 bodies down there who have been affected so …why not her."

"She's not the only one who was attacked but not affected. I found three others." I pulled out the three files and handed them to him. "see if they help."

He nodded and set about comparing the files.

I left quickly leaving him to his work and heading to Jack office. I poked my head in the door.

"Nice to see you both missed me enough to come and say hi." I grinned. They turned round and smiled.

"Anna." Tosh got up and hugged me tightly. I returned it hugging her tighter. I caught Jack's eye over her shoulder. I had more information.

"You two busy?" I asked.

"No" Tosh said quickly "just verifying numbers for UNIT." She nodded shyly and scuttled out the office. I watched her go quietly before shutting the door and turning to Jack.

"It's good to have you back." He said and I smiled softly.

"Good to be back. I missed this place." I said looking out over the hub.

"I take it you've been busy?" He asked

"Yeah." I said taking out a bunch of files from my bag. "I got a lot more information on where the creature could be hiding plus information on 13 other attacks but three of them survived, not including Hinode."

"13?" he asked "why didn't we know about them?"

"These were written off as severe drug addiction over doses before people started thinking they needed our help. They kept making excuses like they must have been a part of a cult or something." I said handing the files to him.

He took them quickly scanning through the first few. All the files contained the autopsy pictures.

"Where did you get these?" he asked.

"…I….improvised." I said trying to hold back a blush, picking up one of the objects on his desk suddenly finding it fascinating. I had hoped he wouldn't ask me that.

"How so?" he asked. I hesitated trying to decide if his voice was warning me or he was being sly….maybe a bit of both.

"I got Hinode to give me the number of the coroner's assistant….I flirted a bit…asked him over for a drink….then I….may have…possibly…drugged him, stole his keys broke into the coroner's office and got the information." I said the last bit in a rush avoiding his eyes.

I heard the chair creak slightly as he leant back smirking in what could almost be considered pride.

"Didn't he get suspicious?" he asked.

"No…I dragged him upstairs and put him on my bed and…well made it look like we'd had a good night and just got too drunk" I said feeling the red stain spread over my cheeks.

The smirk widened.

"I'm impressed."

I shrugged.

"But I thought you hated hospitals" he said.

"I do." I said shortly.

I heard him chuckle very softly and flicked my eyes up to glare at him.

"Hey it was for a reason. Not like I actually would've gone through with it" I defended.

He held his hands up in mock surrender though he still had that damn smirk in place.

"You did good Anna" He conceded.

I place another sheaf of papers on the desk. This time it was maps.

"The red dots are victims that died; the green dots are ones that survived. The yellow dots are possible sightings. 30 attacks all round but with 4 survivors. All concentrated in one area…" I indicated a black circle the encased the highest concentration of dots "… I think that's where it is. There are three different areas that could hide a creature like that. Natural burrows as it were" I pointed out three yellow crosses indicating the places I was referring to.

He tilted his head looking at the file.

"Do you have a theory on which one you think it's in?" he asked.

I pointed.

"This one. It's closest to the concentrated area of attacks. If this creature is predatory it will be protecting its territory. It's also closest to a water source" I said.

"You really thought this out" He nodded.

"It's my job" I said simply.

He looked up at that and gave me his 1,000 watt Jack Harkness grin. A grin so contagious I couldn't help but grin back. He got up and went to the door opening it and shouting for Owen and Ianto. I followed him smiling.

"We going to get it then?" I asked

"We are... you aren't" Jack said turning back to me. That made me stop grinning.

"Jack you can't do that" I said frowning.

"Yes I can. It's only been three days you won't be fully healed" he said.

"He's right" Owen said coming up from the autopsy bay, "You shouldn't be out on the field for a few more days"

"No" I said stubbornly, crossing my arms in defiance and narrowing my eyes, "I'm coming with you"

"Anna…" Jack started with a clear warning in his tone.

"No" I cut him off "You need me."

"And why is that?" asked Owen.

"Who out of the three of you knows the way to go?" I asked.

There was a pregnant pause as they all glanced at each other. I smirked triumphantly.

I had won.

* * *

"If anything happens you stay out of the way Anna, you get to a safe distance; if you have to intervene use your bow but-"

"Owen"

"-be careful. You don't want to strain your back.-"

"Owen"

"-And if you have to fire please be precise. I don't want to have to stitch up anyone because you missed. If your stitches or wounds reopen-"

"Owen"

"-then don't fire. We'll deal with it just make sure you-"

"OWEN SHUT UP!" I screeched cutting him of. He blinked in shock.

"I know the drill." I growled out slowly through gritted teeth. "I'm not stupid. Now be quiet."

I sat back round cracking my neck, ignoring Jack in the driver's seat next to me who had been laughing softly as I got more and more frustrated at Owens' ranting. I cracked my jaw trying to loosen the tension from gritting my teeth so hard and began to massage my temples.

Five minutes later Jack pulled up at the side of the road.

"It's on foot from here" he said getting out.

Following suit I clipped my belt around my hips and slung my bow pack into position on my back. I walked forward into the edge of the trees and waited for them.

"Alright Anna leads the way. Owen you follow her then Ianto and I'll bring up the rear. Keep your guns out and be careful." Jack instructed.

I was happy he let me lead but I knew he meant for Owen to be behind me in case I got attacked first.

I started on the trail that had been carved out on the forest floor heading to the places I had frequented in my childhood. I pulled my bow out of its clip and knocked an arrow in preparation for an attack.

Despite the imminent danger we were in I couldn't help but feel that rush of adrenaline I had missed so much. It was this excitement that always cemented the feeling that this was where I belonged… Torchwood was where I belonged.

We came to a point in the path that we needed to leave. Leaving the beaten out trail meant there were more obstacles. Branches and leaves made mobility and vision difficult. I breathed in the fresh smell of the wood. I could smell the sweet scent of the budding flowers in the mass of green knowing that in a few weeks this area would be bright with colour. I heard a twig snap behind me as Owen stepped on it and was reminded of our purpose there.

It was a frightening thought ….that something so beautiful could hide something so dangerous.

It made me wonder if all beauty in the world was destined to have a dark element within it….if you looked deep enough…

… So did that mean-

A movement to the right cut off my train of thought. I drew back the bow aiming at the area I saw the movement. I scan my eyes from left to right and back again.

"What is it?"

I hadn't noticed Jack move beside me but I knew we were now in formation; Backs to each other covering the area.

"Movement" I whispered. "Makes sense we're very close."

"There!" I heard Ianto whisper accompanied by the rustle of leaves.

"What did it look like?" Jack demanded.

"Tall, humanoid, thin, bulbous head, large hands, prominent mouth." Ianto described.

"Sounds like the perfect partner." Jack chuckled.

"Jack. There's a time and a place, but not NOW." I hissed.

"Why Anna, is that jealousy I detect in your voice?" he asked, his tone mocking.

I took my eyes of the trees for a split second to spare him a glare. Unfortunately that was all it took for it to attack.

The green form leapt out of the trees to my right between Owen and me. I swung my bow around and loosed of the arrow towards the ground managing to catch its foot as it neared the forest floor. Owen had fallen beside me as he stumbled back shooting at the thing. The creature dropped at the impact of the arrow allowing Jack, Owen and Ianto to shoot at its fallen form.

I watched as the pale mottled green flesh became dotted and streaked with red. Holes ripped through its body allowing the blood to drip onto the forest floor and shreds of flesh blended with the green leaves of the trees.

Then the shooting ceased.

It was over.

* * *

That afternoon I was standing in the autopsy bay over looking Owen doing more work on the skeleton. I wasn't doing much to help but I wanted to be there if he found something.

"You're not still worrying about that, are you?" I looked up as Toshiko came in holding two cups of coffee. I kept quiet letting the two of them interact. It was nice to see them working together. Between Tosh's awkward humour compared to Owen's dry wit they made quite a pair.

"Has Jack said anything to you about the hardware we found with the skeleton?" I looked up at that. It wasn't like Tosh to question Jack. I noticed she was pulling something out her pocket

**"**No, why?" asked Owen not looking. I saw Tosh raise her hands and place on that pretty green necklace I had seen before.

"No worries. Just asking." She replied and I wondered why her smile seemed so false. What interest did Tosh have in that equipment?

I sighed as Gwen walked in stopped that point of the conversation and grabbing the spare coffee from the holder. I watched as Owen told Gwen of somebody still seeing cybermen outside their house and asking her to look into it. Gwen was staring intently at Owens back and Owen refused to turn around instead preferring to shout over his shoulder at her.

Gwen and Owen were many things…subtle is not one of them.

"I think I'll just go over there." I flicked my gaze up to Tosh and was surprised to see her agitated and looking like she wanted to throw up.

"Okay. I'll phone Social Services, see if there's a history of mental illness." Gwen said completely ignoring Tosh.

Wasn't Gwen meant to be the thoughtful, caring mother hen role of the group?

"I think my desk is on fire." Tosh snapped but neither of them looked up as she stormed out.

I followed her quickly grabbing onto her arm.

"Tosh are you ok? You seem really tense" I asked full of concern for her.

She nodded curtly and pulled her arm away disappearing.

She was lying.

I knew it.

She knew it.

What worried me was the thought that Tosh had gotten herself into something so deep that she couldn't even trust me anymore…

…and that thought scared me more than anything.

* * *

An hour later I sat at my desk looking intently at the screen of my computer. I was typing up the case file for dealing with the creature. I cracked my neck wondering if I could contact Hinode to say her attacker had been caught ...better not...in case she asked too many questions.

Maybe I could tell her that the attacks had stopped and we didn't know why...that would give her enough peace of mind surely.

"Anna!"

I looked up as the hub door blared and Jack walked in. He jerked his head gesturing me to follow him. I sighed and got up following him to his office. He held the door open for me and closed it after I had passed him.

"What is it Jack?" I asked leaning against the safe.

"What were you doing yesterday at 2 o'clock?" he asked taking of his coat and hanging it on the stand next to me.

"...em...at home doing the finer details of the map for the subject's hideout" I said thinking back. "Why?"

"Did you follow Tosh at all yesterday?" he asked moving to his desk and sitting down

"Yeah. Left her at half one. She was in the centre of town. She looked really weirded out and was acting strange but I turned round to note it down and when I looked back up she was gone." I said. I felt bad now. Had something happened to Tosh after I had stopped looking for her?

I had assumed she'd gone back to the hub.

"Well you seem to have just missed the action then." He said cryptically.

"Action?" I asked confused. I tried to calm my heart now. Obviously Tosh was safe but I had seen her this afternoon with Gwen and Owen in the autopsy bay...she was definitely acting strange...but I wasn't ready to tell Jack my theories just yet. I needed more evidence.

He didn't reply. He just turned to his monitor and brought up the cctv cameras for inside the hub. He focused on the two covering the armoury. I saw the alien device we had picked up from the building site... The one Tosh had been asking about.

Speaking of which I could see her hovering around outside the door before going back to her desk, glancing out Jack's office window I could see her still looking towards the armoury. Jack got out of his seat and guided me to it with firm strong hands on my shoulders. I ignored the goose bumps rising over my arms at the heat of his hands.

"Sit and listen." He said simply sitting me down in the chair and disappearing.

I sat and watched for 10 minutes. Jack was lingering, waiting for Tosh to approach the weapon room. Eventually she made her way over there after Gwen and Owen disappeared saying they were doing the coffee and cake run. As she approached the display table I spotted Jack coming down the stairs. I turned up the volume and watched as Jack entered the armoury startling Tosh.

"So I've just come from a really interesting conversation with a Detective Inspector Henderson." Jack voice crackled from the speakers. For a high tech base we really had crap quality CCTV. Jack continued after Toshiko nodded showing he had her attention "Interesting because, firstly, the man had the biggest hands I've ever seen, and secondly ... because of the story he told me about you saving a woman and her kid from being murdered by her ex-husband."

I raised my eyebrows. So this was why Jack was asking where I was. He wondered why I hadn't seen it…or if I'd just neglected to tell him. I frowned curiously as I took in Tosh's body language. She was intent on keeping the display table between her and Jack. Was she scared of Jack? It certainly seemed so. She looked skittish. Like a doe caught in the hunters trap. Or a rabbit ready to bolt at the slightest hint of danger.

**"**Yeah, no, I was going to tell you about that." She said. It was hard to tell through the speakers but her voice sounded nervous and shaky. As I heard Tosh justifying why she had neglected to tell anyone about this I grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen off Jack's desk and began to make notes on her behaviour and body language to add to my folder at my desk. There were too many weird things now. But there was one similarity through it that I couldn't quite place.

**"**The guy they arrested, Henderson, said you heard him muttering to himself as he was walking along, and that's what tipped you off." Jack continued.

Someone was talking to themselves about killing someone while they were in the middle of a busy street? We're they stupid?

"Mm. I couldn't really work out what he was saying at first, and then it was like, "Jesus!"" Tosh agreed. Now her voice definitely sounded weird…false…strained.

"That's weird because when I'm about to murder someone, I'm really careful not to talk to myself about it while I'm in the street." Jack said pointedly. He was focusing on the artifact on the table but I knew it was to make Tosh think it was just a casual conversation.

"No, sure. I mean, that's lesson one." Tosh was laughing but it had a definite nervous ring to it.

Wait….did that mean she hadn't heard him say it? I thought back to Tosh, Owen and Gwen's in the autopsy bay. …Tosh was getting worked up over nothing….I just put it down to Owen ignoring her but….what if she was hearing something I couldn't…and the one thing that would get her that worked up….Owen and Gwen's affair.

But Tosh didn't know about that yet….did she?

"I was wondering how you were getting on with this." I heard Tosh ask and snapped my attention back to the screen.

"It's ongoing." Jack said casually not revealing anything.

**"**Are you going to dismantle it?" she asked…she sounded worried...or upset. I couldn't decide which

**"**Like I said, it's ongoing." Jack said again. Since when did Tosh question Jack when his tone was that final?

She realised that Jack wasn't going to reveal any information and turned to leave. I relaxed back in Jack's seat. Only to snap back up again as three things happen.

Tosh's hand flew to her pendant…Jack visibly paused…They both turned quickly and straightened up to look at each other.

What...the…hell?

"What? Have I got something on my face? Is it food?" Jack asked wiping his mouth with the back of his hand…Tosh just stared…then snapped back to reality

"No. Sorry. I zoned out."

"Well, listen. That was a good save, Tosh. Well done." Jack praised her. I could tell he was smiling.

However, as Tosh walked away Jack's smile faded and he glanced to the camera with a grim expression.

* * *

A few hours later I shut down my computer. Jack had disappeared after the conversation with Tosh. I had spent the time looking back through all my findings and suspicions and I kept getting one conclusion.

Whatever had happened to Tosh had given her the ability to hear what other people were thinking. I had a feeling it had something to do with that necklace. She kept touching it in confusion.

But that was my theory. Tosh could hear what we were thinking.

The way she had acted around Gwen and Owen this morning proved it. Their "dirty little secret" was obvious to almost everyone in the hub with the way they were acting round each other these days. If they were thinking about being together when Tosh was listening...it was the only explanation I could find that would make Tosh that upset and snappy enough that she would even tell me what was wrong with her.

I gathered my things and shouted a goodbye to Owen as he was down in the autopsy room and left the otherwise empty hub. I flicked open my phone pressing the speed dial to Jack's phone.

"Anna."He answered showing me that he knew who it was.

"Where are you?" I asked "…I think I've figured it out."

"So you think Tosh can hear our thoughts?" Jack asked hearing me at the door to the roof.

"I can't find any other explanations to her actions" I reasoned gripping the door frame securely. "Besides….don't think I didn't notice that look you had after talking to her… you felt her didn't you? Inside your head."

"What makes you say that?" he asked calmly.

"Took me a while to work it out… but she looked confused. Like she couldn't understand what was going on and it was a pretty simple conversation. When she was with Gwen and Owen…well… once I came up with this theory her actions were suddenly explained. And you said yourself, if you're about to kill someone you don't walk down the street talking about it."

"You think the alien gave it to her?" he asked.

"Yes. Think about it. If the alien is connected to the device then it'll want to know what's going on with it. What better way than to gain the trust of an insider and turn her against her team. Tosh is lonely Jack. Of course she's going to reach out for affection."

Jack was silent for a long time. I got the distinct feeling I was saying things he already knew. I kept the silence for a long time. It felt weird. I battled between the decision to leave or to stay. But things had finally begun getting back to normal between Jack and I that I didn't want to ruin it by running away again.

"Jack, why do you always have to pick the high buildings?" I asked stepping fully onto the roof.

I pulled my coat tighter around me shivering. I was immensely grateful for the length of it keeping most of my body shrouded in the black material.

"Don't you find it even a little beautiful Anna?" he asked not looking round. "The light's, the noise, the life-"

"-the people" I cut across him sceptically, staying well back from the edge keep my back pressed against the door I had just come through.

"Anna, whether you want to admit it or not the human race is fascinating" He said and I hummed in disbelief.

It was a conversation Jack and I had had many times before. I didn't see anything special about humans. I hated some of the things I heard humans doing. Humans are dirty, greedy, selfish, spoiled, inconsiderate and narrow minded.

If they weren't we wouldn't need Torchwood to be a secret because mankind would be able to handle alien threats and not just point and shoot. There were some "visitors" we had that were actually very nice to have a conversation with.

I could never see the beauty Jack saw in this city.

"I don't see it Jack" I admitted quietly, looking out at the city following his gaze.

"I don't think you're looking properly Anna" he replied.

Jack turned around and held out his hand to me in a silent command. His hand seemed closer than it should have been. I looked around and backed up in a slight panic realising I had unconsciously moved forward, closer to the edge than I wanted to be.

"Anna" Jack's voice was firm, commanding….magnetic.

I looked at his hand then to his face. Then back again. Hesitantly I reached out towards him and my legs moved forward very slowly. By the time I reached him my heart was beating wildly in fear. I knew what Jack was going to do but my body would not listen to my mind screaming to go back. I grabbed his hand with a weak, trembling grip.

Jack smiled softly and pulled me forward. I had no choice but to follow as he was controlling my actions now. He pushed me closer to the edge, his hands gripping my shoulders firmly.

"Look Anna. Look at them. Those people down there are who we're protecting. Those amazing people with ordinary lives and ordinary jobs. How many times have you saved the world since you joined Torchwood? Have you never stopped to see what your actions saved? Many of those people down there are alive because of us and the team" Jack said.

His breath was brushing over my right ear, tickling the sensitive tip. I shivered and this time it wasn't from the cold. Jacks' proximity and the sheer drop in front of me were making me a little light headed.

"I wish I could see what you see Jack. But look at them. How many people down there are getting beaten up by people they love? Or getting drunk? Or hurting themselves? Or people they know? How many stupid, drunken, jacked up idiots are gonna attack and rob innocent people's houses for the money to get their next fix?" I asked "…We're not beautiful Jack. We're selfish, greedy little people too scared to admit that we don't know why we're here"

Jack spun me round and I yelp in surprise losing my balance a little and grabbing onto his arms pushing against him so his momentum would pull me further onto the roof…unfortunately this brought me closer to his body.

I glanced up at him. My hands gripping his forearms while his hands clasped tight around my shoulders. There was barely three inches between us and I could feel the heat from his body warming up my cold frame. The addicting scent of him made me breathless and I looked into his eyes. They were so soul piercing. The ice blue depths that held so much knowledge looked at me with regret shining through them.

"You're too cynical for one so young Anna" He murmured raising a hand to tuck one of my long red locks of hair behind my ear.

Did he blame himself for that? Did he blame Torchwood?

"I'm sorry Jack" I whispered "but I don't see why we're worth saving. I've seen what humanity is capable of. I saw a lot through the years before I joined Torchwood. If we are the future….then it's looking pretty bleak"

Jack sighed and tilted his head watching me closely still holding me in place.

"Maybe-" He started but his phone started ringing.

I felt an acute loss as he stepped away answering his phone. I looked back out over the city trying to see what he saw… try as I might…I couldn't.

I heard the phone snap shut and Jack turned back to me.

"Owen wants us back at the hub. He's found something" He said.

I nodded and quietly followed him, pausing once more to look out over the city.

Nothing.

* * *

I bit my lip in anxiety as I heard the cog door roll open. I silently begged we were wrong. That every theory we had come up with collectively was wrong. That Tosh wasn't about to bring an alien into the Hub and help it escape.

A transporter.

Jack had known for a day or so. Specifically a prison transporter from the Arcan system. And all evidence pointed to Tosh's lover being the prisoner.

After talking with Owen and calling Gwen and Ianto in, Jack and I had talked about how much we were going to reveal to the rest of them. We had agreed that they needed to know everything apart from the necklace giving Tosh the power to listen in on our thoughts. I could just imagine how Owen was going to take that.

I gripped my gun tighter as I watched the garage doors that led through the armoury and into the hub. The glass was frosted so I couldn't see who had entered the hub. I could only listen.

"In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through caverns measureless to man

Down to a sunless sea"

My heart dropped. That definitely wasn't Tosh's voice. Strong and confident. This was a being who was sure they were about to get exactly what they wanted.

Beside I didn't think Tosh even read works by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

"So, where is it, lover?" I cringed as I heard the word and I heard Tosh try to pacify the woman telling her she had to go and find Jack.

I seemed that no matter what we did…Tosh was going to get hurt.

My grip tightened on my bow in anger as I heard the woman speak again. I growled lowly as I heard the voice dip to a seduction tone.

"Be quick. I've a long journey ahead of me. I might need something to eat before I go"

Yeah, from those files Owen found I could guess the meal wasn't exactly going to be a romantic dinner.

**"**_This_ what you're looking for?" I straightened at hearing Jack interrupt them and Tosh called out in surprise at him presence. It was time.

I listened as Jack talked. Sometimes I seriously wondered what the points of all these stories were. I mean around the table eating Chinese take away was fine. But not in situations like this. Did he really have to make Tosh feel worse at her behaviour? She was already going to feel guilty enough as it was.

"Now this ... This is incredible. You know what it is?" I heard him ask. Finally we were getting to the point.

"It's a transporter. Mary was a political prisoner - she was exiled here. Look, Jack-"I heard Tosh trying to be reasonable. Clearly the woman, Mary, had played the victim to gain Tosh's trust.

**"-**You've got half of it right." Jack interrupted and I could hear his voice start to get harder..more…merciless "Mary ... It is Mary, isn't it? You want to tell her the really interesting bit?"

I held my breath…no answer.

**"**No?" Jack asked in clear mock surprise "Chatty, isn't she? I don't know how you got a word in edgeways, Tosh." I was starting to get scared at how ruthless Jack was being with her. What the hell was he going to do?

"It's a two-man transporter. Or whatever you people may be. You might be squids, for all I  
know. A two-squid transporter. Room for one prisoner and one guard. You want to tell us  
what happened to the guard, Mary?" He asked. He was goading her into replying. Insulting her by pretending not to know what species she was.

It worked

**"**I killed him." Mary admitted calmly but with a definite note of satisfaction in her voice

"But I was disturbed"

She proceeded to tell us how she had possessed a human that had stumbled across her during the murder of her guard.

I had had enough and kicked the door with just enough force to get through it without lowering my gun. The others had gotten the same idea as each of them emerged from their hiding places. I noticed I was the only one armed. I moved quickly through the armoury and took a stance to the left hand side of the door.

Mary didn't even take notice of our arrival and kept talking. Telling us of her murder of a solider that had shot had her.

Suddenly all the puncture wounds through the chest were explained. The skeleton down in the autopsy bay being victim number one.

"And that's what you've been doing ever since" Owen stated stepping forward. He was angry and shaken as Mary confirmed his accusation, "All the punctures were all about the size of a fist. My God, all those people. You killed all those people" his voice was trembling and I felt a wave of protectiveness for him wash over me. Very rarely had I seen things like this bother Owen this much.

"I fled before any more soldiers came. I had so much to explore! And how I love this body. So soft. So wicked. The power such a body has in this world."

God was she ever planning on shutting up?

"Within a few years the forest had gone, the transporter was safely buried under the spread of the city. I didn't care, I wasn't exactly in a hurry to get home" she said excitedly like she was telling us a great story.

**"**And you've been killing ever since" Jack accused

**"**I knew there might come a time when my situation here became complicated, but I was safe, as long as I knew where the transporter was" Mary said evenly.

My eyes snapped to Tosh as she moved and I saw her put the pendant on. I closed my eyes and concentrated on trying to send her message to tell her it was going to be ok but she was too busy watching Gwen, Owen and Ianto as they watched Jack and Mary talk.

Suddenly she cried out turning to Owen.

"Owen NO!"

It happened in the blink of an eye but before I knew it Mary had grabbed a knife from the armoury and moved back to Tosh grabbing her and pressing the vicious blade to her throat. I cursed as she was using Tosh's body as a shield… I couldn't get a clear shot without risking Tosh moving and getting hit instead.

Everyone reacted but Jack and Owen were closest and they closed in on either side of her demanding that they let Tosh go.

"Toshiko, tell them to give me the transporter" Mary coaxed pressing her cheek to the side of Tosh's head

"I can't, Mary" Tosh sobbed. I could feel my heart breaking for her as I heard the hurt, confusion, fear and suffering in her voice.

"How's this?" Mary asked Owen with a sadistic smile "I'll exchange Toshiko for that one" She motioned to Gwen "Your choice"

No one needed a pendant to know the decision. None of us would have made that choice. We were all staying right were we were.

"Just put the knife down" Owen tried to coax Mary, who had turned her attention back to the terrified woman in her grasp.

"Did you hear him? He didn't want to, did he?" She asked in an '_I told you so voice_'. She had been convincing Tosh nobody liked her.

"Please, don't ..." Tosh whimpered. I bite my lip feeling absolutely useless as Mary continued to whisper poisoned words into Tosh's ear.

"That's what they think of you. That's who you've been working with for all these years."

**"**It's not true, Tosh, don't listen" Owen tried in vain and Mary continued.

**"**But not me. Whatever I've done, it doesn't change the way I feel about you. We have a connection, Toshiko, something real."

"Please…" Tosh begged but I got the feeling she didn't know what she was pleading for.

**"**Okay, you want the transporter, we want Toshiko. I think that's a fair swap" I looked at Jack in shock. Did he really think Mary would leave us alone after she left?

"Keep the knife and I'll give you the transporter myself" Jack continued.

"The red head drops the gun" Mary demanded.

"Anna, do it" Jack ordered.

"But Jack…" I started. I had a really bad feeling about this plan.

"Anna!" He barked and I dropped it obediently.

Mary let go of Tosh and shoved her towards Owen. I rushed towards her as she pushed Owen away from her and I gathered my arms around her feeling her cling onto me. I knew she was still watching Mary who was watching the transporter in Jacks arms greedily.

Jack reached her and she reached out touching it. Jack moved closer to allow her to get a good grip on the artifact. I tensed as she paused noticing something else about Jack.

"You smell ... different to them"

I shivered slightly as Jack gave her a lethally dangerous smile.

'_That smile would make the devil quiver. I forgot how scary Jack could be when one of us is threatened'_

I felt Tosh's grip tighten and I realised she'd heard me.

'_Sorry_' I thought.

"It's ok" She whispered quietly to only me though her eyes were glue on Mary.

"What are you?" Mary asked Jack leaning a bit too close to him.

**"**I don't know" Jack said seriously.

**"**And you would have put me in a cage?" She asked giving him a sickly sweet, fake smile of triumph.

Then a noise was emitted from the transporter and Mary's smile vanished as the machine powered up.

"What's happening?" She asked bluntly.

"Oh, that" Jack said lightly stepping away from her "I re-programmed it for you. It's set to enable."

As he spoke a blinding white light engulfed Mary and she gasped in surprise and rage. Tosh ripped herself away from me trying to take a step towards the light but it was too bright. It rose up rapidly hitting the ceiling and disappearing taking Mary with it.

"…Sort of now" Jack finished looking up at the point it had vanished.

**"**What did she ... ? Has she gone home?" Tosh asked looking up at where her lover had been ripped away from her.

I looked at Tosh sadly.

**"**I reset the co-ordinates" Jack said coolly.

**"**Where to?" She asked managing to conjure up a harsh accusing voice.

**"**To the centre of the sun" Jack answered simply.

I gapped at him. He'd done what?

"It shouldn't be hot. I mean, we sent her there at night and everything." He continued looking around at everyone else.

**"**You killed her" Tosh accused.

**"**Yes" Jack snarled harshly.

I watched as he walked away. I felt lost. Very rarely had I ever totally disagreed with a decision he made but this….he had promised not to hurt her…well…not verbally promised. But I had made it clear I was scared just how broken Tosh would get over this.

I watching as the tears started flowing freely down Tosh's face and realised that it seemed that almost every stunt Jack had pulled there was almost intentional in how much it hurt her.

I was torn between going after Jack or comforting Tosh.

I could shout at Jack later. Right now Tosh needed someone.

I went over to her and took her hand leading her away to the bathrooms. Gwen tried to approach but stopped when I fixed her with a glare. Tosh now knew about her and Owen. Despite any kind words Gwen had Tosh needed to calm down first. Gwen was probably the last person she wanted to talk to.

I sat Tosh down on a chair and soaked a cloth washing her face free of the old tears even as new ones kept falling. I put down the cloth and reached around her neck undoing the clasp of the pendant and taking it off her placing it on the side unit.

She sat there motionless with her tears still falling. I crouched down in front of her and tilted her head to look at me. Her eyes were filled with fear, regret, loss and rejection.

"Tosh…" I started softly "It wasn't real. She didn't love you. We do Tosh. We love you so much. Everything she did was designed to make you believe otherwise. But please believe me when I say we'd be lost without you"

She looked at me as her bottom lip started trembling violently before she broke into loud violent sobs and collapsed in my arms shaking fiercely with the force of her tears.

I sat with her on the cold stone floor rocking her gently trying to offer her comfort. She needed this. The big breakdown. She needed to let all this anger and hurt out or it would eat her up inside. I couldn't do much. But I could be there.

We sat for near on an hour. At one point a movement caught my eye and I glanced to the door to see Jack standing there. I hardened my gaze and glared at him. Tosh wasn't ready to talk. He looked at me for a moment in silence before nodding his head in acceptance and disappearing silently into the main body of the hub.

Nearly twenty minutes later Tosh's sobs had reduced to shallow breathing as she started to compose herself. I sat and waited allowing her time to let her pull away by herself. When she did she looked at me with guilt filled eyes.

"I am so sorry Anna" Her voice was horse and cracked from her crying.

"Tosh it wasn't you're fault. You didn't know" I said taking the cloth again to wipe her face.

"But I-" She started.

"No Tosh. She manipulated you. I know how sorry you are and in my book you're forgiven. We all make mistakes. I'm not going to hold this against you." I said and Tosh went quiet.

As I was clearing up Tosh spoke up.

"I know you don't blame me Anna but I have to say sorry. I invaded your thoughts. That's a very private personal thing and I know you don't like it. But...i just want to say... If you ever want to talk... about this thing with Jack..."

I froze. It hadn't occurred to me that she'd heard that.

"Don't worry." She said hurriedly. "I don't know anything. I just...got an indication." She tapered off.

"Maybe I'll tell you eventually." I sighed. I genuinely didn't blame her for this "but..if I'm honest...I don't even know what's going on...but right now is not the time to talk about it. Focus on yourself."

She nodded accepting that I wasn't going to elaborate. She picked up the pendant and left giving me a hug of gratitude. I knew she was going to apologise to everyone. She had calmed down now that she'd be able to talk.

I sighed.

Talk about a rough day.

Walking up to the hub I saw Tosh leading Ianto to the conference room to talk to him privately. Gwen and Owen were muttering softly to each other, debating on who was going to approach Tosh about the affair.

Usually I would have gone over to tell them to leave it. But there would be no point in that. They weren't the ones in the right over this. If they were scared of being found out they shouldn't have started it in the first place and they should be so obvious about it. They wouldn't cause too much fuss. They knew they were in the wrong as well.

I walked over to my desk and shut down my computer gathering my bag. I briefly muttered goodnight to Gwen and Owen before heading towards the door.

I saw Jack approaching the door. I knew he wanted to talk to me as well but I wasn't in the mood. I looked coldly at him and he paused. I knew he was debating on whether or not to order me to speak to him or let me go and cool off.

"Be in at nine o'clock tomorrow." He ordered before turning on his heel and walking back to his office.

I hurried out to my car and tossed my bags in the boot. I was about to climb in when I paused. I looked out over the quiet expanse of the water in the bay.

Maybe a walk would do me good before I went home.

Pulling my jacket tighter around me I slowly walked over the stone slabs of Roald dhal Plass and made my way to the water's edge. I sat looking over the smooth expanse of liquid feeling a sense of calm wash over my heart.

This was better...the sounds of small waves lapping against the side of the harbour. No pollution of people shouting and hurrying to get to the next place they were needed; just the water relaxing after a day of being churned and tormented by the motors of boats.

A glint caught my eye and I looked down to see a couple of empty cans of beer floating on the surface... the stain of humanity on the beauty of nature.

What the hell did Jack see in us?

I turned away.

I started walking back to my car when two figures sitting on a bench outside the millennium centre caught my eye.

Jack and Tosh.

I ducked into the shadows and waited watching them. I couldn't hear anything but it seemed they were talking things through. I watched as tosh held up the pendant.

Then she dropped it on the ground and crushed it with her boot.

I smiled softly.

She could move on now.

I watched as she and Jack started smiling again and I knew the trust was reforming. But I wasn't ready to forgive him that easily. I wanted to know why he'd acted so callous with the situation.

I watched Jack get up, wipe away the last vestiges of Tosh's tears before cupping her chin in affection and turning to walk away.

Towards me.

He drew level with my hiding spot.

"Happy now?" he asked casually.

"No" I said softly moving out of the shadows. I saw his pupils readjust to see my form in the brighter light.

"Jack, that was completely unnecessary back there. I asked you to protect her heart. Did you have to be so cruel?" I asked trying to keep my temper lid shut.

"Anna it was my call. Tosh needed to know it was a mistake" he said firmly.

"She knew that Jack! She was beating herself up about it you saw the conflict inside her. She didn't need you making it worse" I snapped feeling my ire rise.

"She was considering betraying us Anna" he shot back, this time a little more harsh.

"And whose fault is that! Jack doesn't it worry you that Mary got Tosh to believe we didn't need her so easily?"

"What would you suggest we do Anna?" he barked, "You're part of this team as well, despite the time you decided to take off. Don't you think Tosh was affected during the three weeks you ignored her?"

I gapped at him open mouthed. I couldn't believe he had just flung that back in my face.

"We're all responsible here Anna," he finished, his blue eyes were alight with iced anger.

I couldn't answer. The hurt rose up in my chest making it hard to think up a response. How could he use the time off against me like that. He knew the reason... was he still disappointed I had run from him?

...Probably.

He took a step back and turned to walk away from me clearly feeling the conversation was over. It took a moment or two for my brain to kick into gear and I ran after him. There was no way I was letting him walk away after that.

"Hey we're not finished," I snapped getting in front of him, "I am well aware that my time off affected people but I'm trying to make up for that. But in the past year I've known you Jack, you have never been so careless with the team's emotions. It was like you set out intentionally to hurt her. You haven't given me a descent explanation as to why you decided to do that to her"

His eyes flashed at the challenge.

"I promised you things would be good for her in the long run. Tosh will be fine now go home Anna!" he snarled but I stood my ground.

"Jack the one thing I have always respected you for is how you treat us. Now I want to know why you suddenly decided that how you're employees are feeling doesn't matter anymore. I made it clear that the one thing I was scared of for Tosh was getting her heart broken. But you didn't just help break it Jack, you practically made it as difficult and painful as you could" I growled.

"What is it you want me to say Anna?" he exclaimed in exasperation.

"I want you to explain why I feel I can't trust you with the teams emotions anymore!" I shouted, "Just because you're happy at being alone doesn't give you the right to judge when the rest of us reach out for emotional comfort. Not all of us have to suppress our emotions Jack!"

"Well you would know being the expert in covering up your feelings wouldn't you!" he snapped back.

I saw red at the clear jab to my feelings for him and pulled my right hand back ready to strike him hard across the face.

However, in the few seconds it took me to swing my hand round, Jack done 5 things almost simultaneously.

He grabbed my right hand with his left stopping it inches away from his cheek.

He forced my right hand down to my side.

His left arm curled around my waist.

He pulled me forcefully towards his body.

...Then his commanding lips pressed forcefully onto mine effectively silencing my small shriek of surprise in a forceful passionate kiss.

* * *

**AN: Cheeky to ask but reveiws are much loved. Till next time My Lovely Readers Xxx **


	5. They Keep Killing Suzie Part 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never will**

**A/N: Hey here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it. :) **

* * *

_Smooth lips plundered my own making me feel dizzy. The momentum of his swooping down to kiss me forced me to grip onto his shoulder to keep my balance. The strong arm around my waist seemed to warm my whole body. I closed my eyes and moaned, finally starting to respond to the kiss-_

"God this is boring" Owen moaned.

I looked up chuckling slightly. This was one of the rare few times that Torchwood had absolutely nothing to do. The rift was quiet, paperwork was done, new objects documented and Owen had even found a common factor that had stopped Hinode and the three other victims being affected by the poison of the alien that had bitten them.

Blood type. AB negative. Very rare. Very lucky.

So with nothing to do we had all congregated in the conference room. Coffee cups scattered over the table and Gwen had some trash T.V. show playing. Owen was playing a Game Boy and Tosh was quietly reading a crime novel.

I hadn't looked at Jack.

How could I? Less than 12 hours ago I had run away from him after he had rendered me speechless with that kiss.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I remembered the way he had held me. His strong arms, commanding touch and smooth lips. He had effortlessly coaxed me into responding to him. I had threaded my fingers into his hair, tugging slightly, and I had allowed my tongue to enter a duel with his after he used my sigh of pleasure as an opportunity to deepen the kiss...

After we had split apart I could do nothing except gape in disbelief...and run.

What else was I supposed to do? I was in shock. I'm not naive enough to think Jack returns my feeling to the extent I have for him but for him to kiss me must means there's...something?

Instead of making things clearer he had only confused me even more so than before.

What the hell had he been thinking?

I sighed softly shaking my head and going back to my drawing.

"You ok Anna?" I looked up at Tosh.

Since yesterday's incident she appeared to be a lot more relaxed. She had a sense of freedom about her. Maybe a good cry, a pep talk and a decent night's sleep had done her good.

"Yeah I'm fine" I said smiling. I hoped I didn't look too tired. It had been difficult to get to sleep.

"What are you drawing?" she asked.

"Nothing" I replied quickly covering the work, "I mean... it's not finished"

"That doesn't sound like nothing" Owen said smirking and making his way round the conference table.

Typical Owen, just because someone hides their work he annoys them till he finds out what it is.

"It's just a project" I said keeping the paper hugged protectively to me glaring warningly at Owen.

"I thought you'd finished all your school work" Tosh mused.

"I have" I mumbled, suddenly feeling like Tosh was acting like my mum, "This is personal"

"What is it?" asked Gwen starting to take an interest.

Geez just cause work was slow everyone decided this was interesting?

I sighed and was about to place the book on the table face up. I knew they wouldn't let it go so might as well give up.

... Then Jack's phone went off.

Saved by the bell.

I packed the book away and slipped my boots back on as Jack was talking.

"Alright we've got a murder case. Police are already there so let's hurry before they find anything they shouldn't" he said snapping his phone shut.

"Wait they haven't already?" I asked looking at him for the first time, "then why are we being called in?"

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," he replied sweeping out the room.

I shrugged at Owen, grabbed my sunglasses and went down to the garage.

Sure enough when the SUV pulled up in the street the place was swarming with police cars. I noticed the usual glances of distaste at the SUV as the engine was cut.

"You think they'll ever get used to us?" I asked to a quick answering "no" from Owen.

Getting out the car and walking down to the house that was being surrounded I knew we looked an intimidating sight. I knew we gave off an arrogant air towards the police and went over their head more times than they would have liked...still... in my experience the police don't do a lot until they are challenged...and that was a lesson I learned before Torchwood.

I shook of the distant memory and walked next to Owen, a couple of steps behind Jack. The blinding hot sun beat down on us. For mid June it was actually very warm...which was kind of a bugger when you're usual dress code colours were dark. I was thankful for the large sunglasses I had because I could feel a heat induced headache making an appearance.

"At last. You must be Torchwood? My team bitch about you all the time" a woman said distastefully as we approached, clearly the one with authority.

"And you are?" Jack asked.

"Detective Swanson" she replied with a matter of fact tone of voice.

Watching quietly from behind my dark lenses something was bothering me about the way she was speaking. She seemed to know something. Something she blamed us for. Something that she knew we weren't aware of yet.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness" Jack introduced himself, holding his hand out to shake hers

"So I've heard" she replied, accepting the handshake, "tell me something, are you always this dressy for a murder investigation?"

"What, you'd rather me naked?" came the quick reply from the captain as he whipped off his sunglasses to look at her properly.

Although his tone was more sarcastic than flirtatious I honestly couldn't stop my mind having a brief flashback. I had felt the muscles under those clothes. I shook it off quickly with a quick eye roll and shared a look with Owen and although I couldn't see his eyes behind his shades I knew he was thinking exactly the same thing I was.

'_Time and a place Jack, there's a time and a place"_

"God help me, the stories are true" Detective Swanson replied dryly. Well at least she handled it well...even if it did involve a brief glance up and down at Jacks form. This seemed to be enough for Jack as he put his sunglasses back on and said no more.

"So who's the victim?" Gwen asked getting us back to the point.

"That's victims, plural. Yesterday, a man was murdered at 96 Oakham Street, Alex Arwyn - 28, single, estate agent," as she spoke an officer handed her a file, which she then gave over to Jack, "here we go, that's from the scene of the crime"

I looked over Jack's arm to see photo's of an extremely bloody crime scene.

"Today, in here, we get two more, Mark and Sarah Briscoe, both 33, married. He's a surveyor, she works in education"

The bodies of Mark and Sarah Briscoe were the most disturbing things in the photograph. Not the fact they were dead. Not the fact they were covered in blood. But the fact that Sarah Briscoe's eyes were open... and a look of sheer abject terror filled them.

What the hell had she seen?

Then something else caught my attention. The blood on the walls weren't just spatters. Long streak of blood made them seem like...words?

"What about the smears of blood? Is that writing?" asked Jack. Sometimes I swear to God that guy has mind reading powers.

"Work in progress" Swanson replied with what looked like...a smirk? "Come inside and see the finished thing"

As we headed for the house my stomach dropped. This was it. This was what she knew about that we didn't. This was going to be something she blamed on us...and knew it was a blame we'd have to accept.

I wanted to say something to Jack but I couldn't. Swanson was too close.

As we entered the scene of crime the SOCO officers we snapping photo's left right and centre. Gwen went in the room first with Jack and Swanson following her. I saw Gwen stop and her eyes widened

"Oh, my God..."

I slipped past her, Jack and Swanson to get into the room.

Blood was everywhere. The victims hadn't been moved. Their throats were slashed with the red stains dripping onto the white bed covers...the red anger maiming the white innocence.

My eyes caught onto the drips of blood above the wall. My gaze trailed up the wall slowly with my heart pounding. Then I froze. My breath caught and my blood ran cold as I stared at the word

"Looks like somebody wants your attention," Swanson stated coldly.

This time I didn't blame her. It's hard to justify our innocence when the gleaming red letters spelled out our name like a glowing beacon of blame glinting softly in the morning sun that filtered into the room through the lace curtains:

TORCHWOOD

I barely heard Jack's cold, hard response.

"They've got it"

* * *

I was only half listening as Jack and Swanson were talking. I vaguely heard her mention about the finding some hairs from the killer.

I was kneeling down beside the bed looking at Sarah Briscoe. I watched the blood congealing on her skin. The dark red substance staining the white outfit she was wearing along with her pale skin. Darkness eating away at the light. She looked so frightened. The attack must have been brutal. I couldn't help but wonder which of them had died first. Had she been made to watch her husband die or was she attacked first?

"It was only a matter of time," that sentence cut though my thought process as Swanson turn to leave with the SOCO team.

"What was?" Jack demanded coldly.

"Torchwood walks all over this city, like you own it," she snapped rounding on Jack with a self righteous air, "now these people are paying the price - ordinary people, ripped apart, with your name written in their own blood. From where I'm standing, you did this, Captain Jack Harkness. You did it"

I stood up glaring at her. How dare she! From my experience the police had blood on their hands as well. And that came from pure laziness.

"Well from where I'm standing that really is the pot calling the kettle black" I growled. I tried to ignore the hand next to my knife twitching in temptation.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" She asked rounding on me.

How dare she...how could she say that about Torchwood when the police didn't even help-

"Leave it Anna" Jack commanded softly cutting me off before I could open my mouth to retort.

I growled low in the back of my throat glaring at Swanson but I backed down. I crouched back down to Sarah looking over the body again.

I heard Swanson leave and Owen got up to close the door.

"Still, at least we've got a head start. If it's someone we've pissed off, that narrows it down to ... ooh, four or five million," he said snapping on his gloves.

"And that's just the humans" Jack sighed in resignation, "Tosh, how we doing?" he asked into his earpiece.

As they were talking I focus on the injuries I was seeing before me. I slowly started to piece together what had happened.

The husbands eyes were closed and there were fewer marks on his body...he was killed first. Sarah on the other hand had more wounds on her.

"Owen" I beckoned over.

"What is it?" he asked crouching down beside me.

"Look at her arms" I said, hoping he wouldn't see what I was seeing.

"Cuts from the knife over her arms, bruising on the shoulder from what looks like a hand print" he said listing it off.

"Defensive wounds" I clarified, looking up to see Jack and Gwen on the other side of the bed looking at us, "Mark was killed first, probably quickly. She woke up, saw the attacker and tried to fight him off. She fought back...and lost"

I placed my hand along the outline of the bruise...my hand looked tiny compared to the mark.

I sighed and raised my hand to her eyes, closing them.

Tosh's voice came over the earpieces.

"Jack? They've got the results on the killer's hair."

They started packing up the equipment and filling out the room.

"Anna, you coming?" I looked up to see Jack watching me with concern. I didn't blame him...I hadn't moved from the bodies.

"I'll catch up" I promised.

"Anna come on" he said firmly, "we can't do any more here. We'll get the bodies to Torchwood"

I sighed and rounded the bed to the door walking past Jack.

"Jack...you don't really think that... this was because of us...do you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Tosh says the victims are not on our database" he said, walking beside me.

"So they could just be random victims...picked out purely to make us look like the bad guys?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him pause. I looked up at him to see his head bowed and turned slightly...glancing back over his shoulder to the room where the bodies were... the light in his eyes was smothered by blame.

"It's possible" he replied quietly.

I said nothing more as we joined the others back outside and we all approached Detective Swanson who was reading the file. She started speaking without properly looking up at us.

"Initial findings say, Caucasian male, early 40s, smoker, drinks tequila. Doesn't match any DNA profiles" she took a brief glance up at us seemingly reluctant to tell us the next thing, "only thing of interest is a compound we've never seen before."

Owen looked over Swanson shoulder "Recognize it?" she asked.

He clearly did because he snatched it out of her hands looking in disbelief at what he was reading.

"Uh-Oh, we're in trouble" he said looking up at us.

"What is it?" Gwen asked.

"Compound B67" Owen replied.

I swore colourfully under my breath.

"You're kidding?" Jack said.

"Retcon," Owen confirmed, "he's got Retcon in his blood"

Maybe we were to blame after all.

* * *

An hour later we were sat in the conference room once again. The only difference was that this atmosphere wasn't quite so relaxed as it had been this morning. I drummed my fingers on the table in agitation waiting for Owen to start the brief.

Gwen sat beside me while Jack and Tosh resided in the seats opposite us. Everyone was quiet, the only noise being the machinery in the hub and the rhythmic drumming of my fingers. It sounded so loud that I became self conscious and ceased the movement.

Finally Owen cleared his throat to get our attention.

"B67, aka Retcon, aka the magic ingredient of the amnesia pill" he started. He wasn't facing us, preferring to watch the animation on the screen of the effect the retcon has on the human system... or the known effects it has on the human system.

**"**And this belongs to us. This killer is somebody we gave the amnesia pill to" Gwen carried on.

"Is he remembering that he's a serial killer? Or is he becoming a serial killer because of the Retcon?"

"Well, there's a pleasant thought" I muttered.

"Wait a minute. I've taken Retcon" Gwen suddenly piped up worry lacing her voice.

Jack and Tosh shared a look.

"Then better stay away from sharp objects" Jack deadpanned.

Tosh and I rolled our eyes. Seriously? That was the best answer he came up with? Could he not just tell Gwen that one little pill that barely had an effect for 12 hours was unlikely to turn her into a deranged psycho killer?

"Ianto, how many people have we given amnesia pills to?" Jack asked getting back to business.

"2,008" He replied with only a little hesitation in his thought process. How could he know numbers like that off the bat? Did he live in the archives?

"Hey, what if they all become psychotic?" Owen exclaimed excitedly, practically bouncing up and down.

"Do you have to sound so happy?" Tosh asked looking at him incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm just saying. Mean Streets!" he said with a devious smirk of his own.

"Not exactly the thing to be focusing on in this case Owen," I reminded him, "the murders that have already happened are bad enough without worrying about the rest of the 2,008 turning as well"

"Tosh, narrow the list down to fit Swanson's profile, start checking them out as fast as you can" Jack ordered Tosh who quickly starting tapping away at her portable computer.

"You two," he then said, addressing Gwen and Owen, "there's got to be a link between the victims; find the link, find the killer. Anna I want you to assess the victim's wounds and recreate what happened. See if you can determine a physical profile of the killer. Get to it!"

As Tosh Owen and I headed for the door Gwen's voice made us turn to see she had stayed seated.

"Jack? If there is a link, why don't we just ask the victims ourselves?" she asked leaning over the table, hands spread, palm down as she spoke.

"Not the right time for a séance, thank you very much" Jack replied leaning back over the table for a brief second to address her.

"The first time I met Torchwood," She persisted and I felt my stomach drop "you had that glove" she finished.

Yep. I bloody knew that's where she had been heading. Jack shared a look with Owen and they both shook their heads.

"No way!" Jack said firmly with a humourless chuckle.

"Not after what it did to Suzie" Owen justified.

"It's too dangerous" I confirmed.

The glove had been found a few months before we met Gwen. Jack, for some unknown reason, had decided to place Suzie and me in the same task of studying the glove. Maybe he had been hoping to bring us closer together as a team. Maybe he was trying to let us see we could work together without arguing.

Whatever his motives things didn't go as planned. That thing messed with people's heads big time. I hated working with it before and I sure as hell wasn't about to put myself through that again.

"It brings people back to life. Just for two minutes, we could question the murder victims" she insisted.

"That's exactly what she said," snapped Owen, "She was one of us, we trusted her and now she's dead cos of that thing"

I cast my eyes down. I regretted Torchwood ever finding the glove. I hadn't liked Suzie very much but no one deserves what that glove did to her. Maybe if I'd done something different I could've stopped her falling so far.

"The glove stays in the safe where it belongs" Jack said with a tone of finality.

"These murders are happening because of Torchwood" Gwen said raising out of her chair in defiance, "so Torchwood has got to do something" she insisted.

"Leave it Gwen!" I barked, "The glove is staying locked up. We'll work things out the old fashioned way. We will not look for a quick escape. Right Jack?" I asked looking at him for support. We hadn't talked fully about the findings of the glove that I personally had found but after Suzie died I made it clear how dangerous it was. Surely Jack wouldn't allow the thing to be brought back out.

To my horror he looked like he was actually considering it.

"Jack?" I asked. I could hear my voice quake with a tint of fear and caution.

He looked at me. I tried to read his expression but he was keeping it carefully blank. After a minute I saw it. The brief flicker of change that told me his decision.

"Jack you can't!" I cried.

He said nothing... he just turned and walked away.

I slumped back in my seat staring in shock at the table.

He was going to do it.

He was going to allow the resurrection gauntlet out to play.

* * *

I had been in Torchwood 7 months when Jack gave Suzie the task of researching the glove. When it became obvious to her that the glove relied on some sort of emotion I had gotten involved...after all part of the reason I got this job was my ability to read emotions and be open to them.

Suzie and I had worked closely together over the next two months to work out everything we could about the glove. It had been the cause of rows, heated debates and bad temper between us. Suzie and I had never been particularly friendly. She thought I was too young for this job and that Jack had made a mistake in hiring me. As my time at Torchwood had progressed she had become more and more resentful with each passing month. Like the more the rest of the team trusted me, the more of a threat I was becoming... I supposed in a way I was a threat...After all I got her job when she passed away.

The research on the glove we managed to accumulate between us wasn't as much as we would have liked. It appeared to feed of emotion to enhance its power. Empathy for the deceased was the easiest emotion it latched onto but further research indicated that it wasn't the only emotion that could make the glove work.

This was the research I had conducted after Suzie had killed herself. It hadn't made sense to me. She hadn't felt sorry for her victims that she murdered so why had the glove worked with her?

I shot out of my seat following the rest of them down to Jack's office. As we filed in I stood at the doorway watching as Jack looked through his desk finding the notebook that had the code for the safe and the reference number that would bring the glove up to us.

"Jack please," I was aware I was begging but I was willing to put away my pride this time, "please don't do this. It's dangerous. There are other ways to find out what happened...we don't have to bring that thing out...Please"

He said something as he crossed to the safe opening it and punching in a few number on the keypad.

"Where did we even get it anyway?" Gwen asked.

I wanted to scream as Jack completely ignored my plea and answered Gwen as he pulled the now deposited box out from the depths of the safe.

"It fell through the Rift about forty years ago. Lay at the bottom of the Bay till we dredged it up," he explained as he unlocked the box and flipped open the lid, "I always figured, this wasn't just lost. Whoever made it, wanted rid of it" he finished as he pulled out the glove for us all to see.

"Exactly" I agreed, annoyance and desperation leaking into my voice "so how about we follow by example and put it away?"

Once again I was ignored.

"You know, we never gave it a cool name" Owen muttered thoughtfully as he scrutinised the glove.

"I thought we called it the **R**esurrection **G**auntlet?" Tosh asked confused.

"_COOL_ name" Owen reiterated looking pointedly at Tosh before shaking his head in disbelief at the thought of the Resurrection Gauntlet being a cool name.

"What about..." Ianto spoke up clearly thinking about what to call it "...the Risen Mitten?"

I huffed in disbelief at that, a sound that was echoed by Owen, the same sound but for two very different reasons.

"I think it's catchy" Ianto said shrugging, unfazed.

"Well I've got a few" I piped up sarcasm taking over my system in defensiveness from the fear, "what about Mistake? Dangerous? Unstable? Mental bloody mind fuck? Any of those do?" I asked, my Scottish accent was very clear now, becoming broader as I got more emotional.

"All of you out!" Jack snapped looking at me sternly, "Owen get one of the victims up to the Autopsy Room. Anna I want a word, now!" He commanded.

I was silent as the others filed out Owen was the last one out and he gently shoved me inside so he could shut the door behind him.

I stood still glaring defiantly at my captain. I didn't want to act like this around him. I was being childish but Jack was preparing to use the glove in the next few minutes. He didn't have all the facts, didn't understand just how much information he didn't have. It would take days to explain it all to him. It was time I didn't have... so I had to resort to other methods to try and get him to listen.

"You've been hanging around with Owen for too long" he commented, watching me with hard eyes.

I sighed and my shoulders slumped. His cool, calm tone wasn't going to give me anything to fight against so there was no point in trying. Besides he was right, my attitude had been similar to the way Owen acted if he was denied something.

"I sorry" I apologised, "I shouldn't have been so snappy. I should handle this better" I sat down in the seat opposite his desk, leaning forward imploring him to understand, "please Jack, in all seriousness listen to me. This is a mistake"

"Gwen's right Anna. This is the quickest way to find out what they have in common" he reasoned. I hated the fact his voice had changed to one of soft cajoling to bring me round to the idea. I was convinced Jack could make jumping of a bridge sound like a good idea if he tried.

"We can find out a connection without the glove. We've done it before, you know the old fashion way?" I said before allowing a small smirk to show "Surely someone with your fashion sense can respect the value of the old fashion ways?"

Even he had to smirk a bit at that.

"Anna it'll be alright. We're aware of the dangers this time. Trust me this won't be a repeat of Suzie" he assured me.

"But Jack you don't know everything. We never talked about the glove after what happened with Suzie. The experiments I conducted before it got locked up gave some disturbing results. This thing messes with the emotions in ways that we can't even imagine. It'll take days to explain it all to you and that's time we don't have" I pleaded one last time.

He took his time looking at me. Taking in the fear in my eyes and my nervous disposition. I knew I was putting him in a difficult situation but he had to know that this wasn't just as black and white as Gwen seemed to think it was.

"Alright Anna," Jack said coming to a decision, "I'm not going to put the glove back but I want you overseeing everything. If you see it getting into dangerous territory you stop it alright?"

"Jack it's already in dangerous territory. Emotions are running high. We all have strong emotions when it comes to that glove because of what happened last time. That's what it's going to feed off of" I explained.

"Anna, we're doing this" Jack said with a tone of finality. It was the tone that told me he was going to be immoveable on the subject.

I sat back slumped in the chair staring at the glove on Jack desk.

"...fine." I sighed heavily "...you're the boss."

Jack snatched up the glove from the desk and walked around it heading for the door behind us. I didn't look up until I felt his hand on my shoulder. Only at that moment did I move my gaze upwards to look at his face. His eyes were a soft cornflower blue trying to reassure me that we were doing the right thing.

He didn't say anything, just cupped my chin softly and ran his thumb lightly over my bottom lip. I knew my eyes were betraying the tirade of confusion and fear inside me. At his touch the feeling of confusion increased tenfold and I averted my gaze down to the floor. He simply moved his hand to cup along the side of my neck. I closed my eyes comforted ever so slightly by the soothing warmth of his hand. I was so focused on that comforting heat that I barely felt the brief press of his lips touching my hair. I knew what it was. I heard the unspoken words.

'Trust me'

He turned and left the office leaving me feeling more mystified than ever. I sighed and got up heading towards the autopsy room. With each step I felt the fear increase in my stomach. I felt sick, I wanted to run away...but I couldn't... This was my job. My task was to make sure that glove didn't take the life of another member of the team. This felt wrong... but if they felt it was necessary... I could do nothing but watch...and try to protect them.

I move to the steps on the far side of the autopsy room. I sat down and waited watching them all as they bustled around trying to get ready. The body of the first victim, Alex Arwyn lay on the table. His skin had turned the bluish hue that made him look like he was turning to stone. I knew if I was to touch the body it would be as cold as stone as well.

Clearly it had been decided amongst the team that I was to be left mostly alone unless my knowledge on the glove was needed.

Ianto stood next to Owen at the heart monitor, stop watch at the ready. I took a breath in as Jack picked up the glove and slid it on his hand.

"Jack? You okay?" Gwen asked. What NOW she was getting concerned?

Jack didn't answer her.

"Don't forget, the maximum resurrection time is two minutes, and that was only cos Suzie had practice. The most we're likely to get is thirty seconds, okay?" he instructed.

"Why doesn't Anna do it?" Owen asked turning to me, "you spent as much time with the glove as Suzie"

"Because I'd rather stick my knife in my stomach and drag out my insides before touching that thing again" I said shortly.

"Believe me Anna that's not as fun as it sounds" Jack commented before shouting back to Tosh at the computer on the workstations, "Tosh, you ready?"

"Ready...and recording," she shouted back, "This man was victim number one. Name: Alex Arwyn."

Jack nodded and placed the glove covered hand on Alex Arwyn's head. He closed his eyes trying to make the connection and pull Alex back from the dark.

"Come on, Alex. Come back," he muttered softly attempting to use his voice to give Alex something to latch onto.

I glanced to the foot of the table where Owen was taking readings of the monitor. He nodded to show it was still safe.

"How does it work?" Gwen asked watching Jack intently from her position opposite his, across the table.

"Gwen quiet!" I hissed. If Jack slipped up I wasn't sure what could happen. He however answered her anyway.

"You just sort of feel. Like reaching into the dark. Finding the dead,"

He seemed to be struggling, something was wrong. I stood up hurrying down next to him "I can't... I don't ... Ah" he was shaking his head in protest like he was trying to fight away something only he could hear.

"Jack stop!" I ordered, "Stop before-"

I was cut off as he wrenched his hand away from Alex and tearing the glove off like it had burnt him.

"- it makes you" I finished.

"Damn! Ah! Ah! Nothing! Sorry," He said to rest of them, raising his hand in defeat, "never was very good with this thing. Owen?" He offered it to Owen who shook his head.

"I tried last time. We all had a go, it only responded to Suzie and Anna, and we all know Anna's position on this" Owen said glancing at me.

"I'm not going to apologise if that's what you want" I said moving back to the stairs, "I still think this whole thing is wrong"

"Well, I never had a go" Gwen offered.

We all glanced at each other. I bit my lip as Gwen held out her hand for the glove and Jack handed it over. They switched places at the table so Gwen could comfortably place her hand on Alex's head.

Gwen slid the glove on her hand and gasped in shock.

"It's cold!" She exclaimed.

"It warms up," Jack said quietly, "The glove relies on some sort of empathy. Maybe compassion and..." He paused, not really sure how to explain it "...just be yourself"

"Gwen" I said getting her attention, "Be careful, don't let your concentration slip. The glove feeds off your emotions so make sure you know what you want to happen. Don't allow the glove to control your emotions. Don't get mixed up about what you want to happen"

"Why what could happen?" She asked fear creeping into her voice. I sighed knowing the others didn't know this information.

"During the last few weeks of research Suzie and I started to realise that if the glove connected so strongly with someone then it could bring them back permanently. While that sounds like a medical marvel we didn't manage to research what consequences could be produced from that path. The glove was designed to bring people back to life... so don't mix up what you want and what it wants" I warned.

"We never knew that" Owen said.

"Well after what happened the glove was a taboo subject wasn't it," I said, "Suzie and I found out more than you were aware of. Hence why I said this was a bad idea. Just keep in control of your emotions and concentrate Gwen. No distractions and you should be fine"

Gwen nodded and put her hand on top of Alex's head. It was an instant connection. The air crackled and Gwen gasps as the glove wrapped a fist around her heart and started to absorb the power in her emotions, drawing them down her arm and into Alex.

I heard Ianto click the stopwatch to start the timer seconds before Alex convulsed and opens his eyes. He started screaming still lost in the horror of his attack.

"Somebody help me! Oh, my God, help me, help me, help me!" He begged seemingly not seeing us he choked slightly as his screaming irritated his dry throat.

"Alex! I need you to listen to me" Jack said trying to get him to focus but it was no good.

"Somebody help! HELP ME!"

"That's what we're doing!" Jack insisted raising his voice to cut through the panic. It worked as Alex's eyes suddenly focused on him "Alex, you were attacked. Do you know who it was? Who attacked you!" Jack asked.

"Who are you?" Alex demanded, confused and scared.

"How long?" Owen demanded of Ianto.

"Where am I?" Alex sobbed and I felt my heart clench in pity for him.

"Fifteen seconds." Ianto answered.

"Who are you?" Alex asked Gwen this time.

"I'm just-I'm just trying to help, sweetheart," she insisted. I could see her face but her voice told me she was upset at how the event was unfolding, "I'm just trying to help" she trailed off not knowing what else to say.

"I want my mum. Please! Let me see my mum..." Alex begged chocking and sobbing before taking in one last gasp of air and falling back into the dark. The monitor by Owen flat lined.

"He's gone," Owen confirmed.

"Let me keep trying" Gwen insisted getting panicked and desperate.

"Gwen, he's dead," Owen maintained firmly.

"But I can bring him back" she insisted not listening to him.

"The glove only works once" Jack told her.

"But I can do it, just let me try" she cried out her voice rising hysterically.

"Gwen. Look at me," Jack ordered and she snapped her head up to look at him.

"He's gone," he said quietly.

She stared at him for a moment before the air crackled with the connection being broken. She turned from the table and wiped a tear from her eye.

"That was amazing. She's a natural. Twenty-four seconds!" Ianto said, impressed.

"Give Ianto a stopwatch, and he's happy," Owen snarked.

"It's the button on the top," Ianto replied with a small smile.

"Gwen that was dangerous," I said coming down to stand next to her, "I told you to keep control of your emotions. It nearly got out of control"

"Anna this is the only chance we've got" she said snappily.

"No its not it's the quickest chance we've got, but putting that aside that was way too close to the danger line"

"We are not stopping this Anna," Gwen insisted.

"I know Gwen you've made yourselves clear on that but right now go get a drink, clear your head and calm down before this causes any more damage"

"No I want to carry on," she insisted. I didn't like the way she seemed to be cradling the glove against her. Although I was loathed to touch it I tested out a theory.

"Gwen give me the glove," I asked holding out my hand.

She paused looking hesitant. She clearly didn't want to let go of it.

"Gwen give me the glove now!" I ordered.

It took a few more seconds but eventually she handed it over. It felt strange having the glove in my hand again. It seemed to hum in recognition at its new holder.

"Go and calm down!" I ordered pointing out of the autopsy room.

She glared at me for a few seconds before casting a glance back around the room and slowly leaving. Before she got out of sight I saw her give the glove, still held in my hand, one last look. I sighed as she moved out of sight.

I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see Jack standing behind me. His eyes alone told me to follow him. We left Ianto and Owen and went up the stairs into Jack office. He shut the door behind us and turned to look at me.

"Come on Jack you can't look at that and tell me the way Gwen acted wasn't dangerous. She didn't want to let the thing go," I said tossing the glove onto his desk. Honestly I was half hoping it would break on impact... no such luck.

"I know Anna, I saw" he said.

Something about his voice made me stop and look at him. He was quiet. It was a strange quiet and not one I was used to associating with Jack. It was hesitant.

"What is it Jack?" I asked.

He didn't answer. He just kept on looking at the looking at the glove lying on his desk. He watched it for some time before finally raising his gaze to me. I was silent and so was he. However, I felt the panic raising in my chest at each passing moment of stillness as my brain clicked together what he was going to ask me to do.

"Oh no, Jack!" I cried stepping back from him shaking my head violently in protest "No, no, no, no absolutely not!"

"Anna you're clearly the only one with the right amount of control," he said stepping towards me, hands outstretched palms up. It was like he was approaching a wild animal getting ready to run. In all honesty I was trying to figure out the quickest way out.

"Jack, come on this is so unfair. I don't even want that glove out here but now you want me to use it?" I was aware I was getting hysterical.

"Anna...either do it willingly... or I'll order you to do it. We need to talk to these victims" he said firmly.

I paused at the threat of the order. Would he really do that?

I didn't even need to answer that question.

I stood my ground and faced him. If he wanted me to do this he was going to have to order me to do it.

He heaved a sigh.

"Alright. Anna I'm ordering you to use the glove to help aid us in this investigation" he said.

I bowed my head.

"As you wish, Captain"

I walked past him out to the hub and sat down at my desk. Pulling my legs into the half lotus position on my chair I closed my eyes and started deep breathing mediation.

I was going to need all the control I could muster.

I ignored the sounds around me. I heard Gwen and Jack arguing over his decision to take her off the responsibility of the glove. I heard Owen coming towards me but Jack called him away telling him to leave me be.

I could see Jacks logic in putting me in charge of it. I knew more about it, I had worked with it before but I didn't want it here which reduced the chances of me becoming attached. There was another reason too... I didn't know if Jack was aware of it... but it was there.

If Jack ordered me to stop... I would. I would listen to him.

I didn't like the word control but if anyone did have a certain amount of power of me...It was Jack.

I wasn't aware of how much time had passed but I eventually felt Tosh's hand on my shoulder pulling me out of the meditation.

"We're ready" she said softly.

I nodded not saying a word. I made my way down to the autopsy table where Jack, Gwen, Owen and Ianto were waiting.

Jack held out the glove and I took it off him wordlessly not even looking at him.

"Anna, are you ok?" Owen asked in a soft manner.

"Let's just get it over with," I said shortly. I wasn't going to lie and say I was ok about this.

Tosh followed my request and began the recording equipment.

"Recording. Victim number two: Mark Briscoe" she said in her cool professional voice.

I slipped the glove onto my right hand flexing my fingers trying to keep my blood flow going to keep them warm while the glove warmed up. I regulated my breathing to a slow steady rhythm searching through my emotions.

What I hadn't told them yet was the glove worked with pretty much any emotion. If it was a driving force in the life of the wearer of the glove that's what would make it work. Since I didn't really want to be doing this empathy wouldn't work with me. The only reason I was doing it?

Jack.

I concentrated on pulling all my feelings for Jack to the surface. I felt the goose bumps rising over my skin and my heart started beating faster. I had to work hard to keep my breathing slow. Although my feeling for Jack wasn't the smartest to think about when we were being watched so closely I felt it was the safest. Maybe it would help me pull back if I needed to...if he told me to.

I felt the glove start to heat up feeding off the emotions and sensations I was bring to the surface. I replayed the kiss in my head conjuring up the same feeling but being careful not to show too many outward signs. Although no amount of control could stop the blush I could feel spreading over my skin as the glove got warmer.

When I felt the tell tale tug on my heart I knew the glove had fully made the connection with me. I placed my hand on Mark's scalp and carefully channelled my emotions down it. I felt the pull from glove as it tried to grab more energy from me but I stubbornly held on thanking my spirit I had studied meditation so diligently.

I reach into the dark feeling for the last vestiges of Mark's soul. I called out to him in my mind using the connection to bring him back.

It was quiet this time around. No screaming, no shouting... just a small surprised gasp for air as Mark opened his eyes. His gaze darted around in confusion.

"Hey, there," Jack said in a soft voice which drew marks gaze to him, "just look at me. Look me in the eye. That's it"

"Where am I?" Mark asked in a small panicked whisper.

"You've been hurt," Jack told him in a comforting but matter of fact way, "we don't have long. We need to know who attacked you"

"Is my wife all right?" Mark asked ignoring Jack question and I suppressed the wave of sympathy.

Even when he's been hurt his wife was his first thought. I felt glove try and tug on the feeling but I took another deep breath fighting off its hold.

"We're looking after her," Jack assured him with a soft smile before bringing him back round to the subject at hand, "Now Mark, who was it?"

This time Mark answered the question.

"It was that man. He belonged to Pilgrim, he went to Pilgrim" he answered his eyes regaining the terror as he started to remember the attack. So he had been awake for the attack. He still must've been attacked first if he didn't know what happened to Sarah.

"What's Pilgrim?" Jack asked encouraging him but Mark had already remembered what he had been put through.

"Oh my God," he whispered, "he had a knife." He sounded so small and scared.

"No, Mark, he's gone," Jack assured him although he speech pattern was speeding up as time moved on, "We don't have long. Quickly, what was his name?"

"Thirty-five seconds" Ianto warned.

"Max," Mark answered Jack "never knew his surname"

"Trying Pilgrim and Max. Get a description" Tosh called.

I decided to try something new. I focused on the end to the connection that was Marks mind and I searched through the dark for the memories of the attack.

"You gotta give us something more so we can catch him," I heard Jack say frantically.

I searched harder trying to tap into Mark's own emotions. I saw a white barrier that oozed terror and I attacked it. With a lot of effort the barrier broke but I couldn't anything more than flashes.

Blood spattering.

A knife glinting as it slashed through the air.

Terrified screaming.

A woman crying.

A tattoo on a thick muscled arm.

I was flung back from the barrier as it closed up again. I gasped for breath as it became harder to concentrate. I closed my eyes trying to regain focus.

"He's going," Owen said softly.

"There was... There was someone who knew him better," Mark said suddenly "...That woman...She was always talking to him..."

"What was her name?" Jack asked.

"Where's my wife?" he asked, his voice breaking into almost sobs.

"Her name!" Jack insisted.

"...Suzie"

My eyes snapped open.

The room suddenly went ice cold.

We could do nothing but staring in shock as Mark took one last breath and died without knowing where his wife was.

The stopwatch clicked off.

"One minute five seconds" Ianto recorded in a stunned voice.

I breathed a sigh as the glove let go of its hold on me. I slipped the glove off and laid it down on the table nursing the once again cold hand.

"Jack?" Tosh called, bewildered, "did I hear that right?"

"Could be anyone" Owen insisted "There must be lots of women called Suzie"

"Not connected to this case," Jack said folding his arms looking down at Mark's motionless form.

I shuddered realising his eyes were still open. I place my hand over them and gently slid his eyes shut.

"We've been talking to the wrong corpse," Jack finished.

My stomach dropped.

* * *

I sat in the conference room twirling my dagger on its point.

"Anna, you're marking the-" Owen started but silenced when I shot him a glare.

"This is ridiculous." I sighed before looking at Jack who was standing at the glass window looking out over the hub. I was trying to gage his mood. He wasn't tense per say...but I could think of any other way to describe what I felt from him... maybe uneasy was the term I was looking for?

"Jack?" I started softly laying down the dagger. He turned to look at me.

"Suzie can't be it. She's only connected because WE decided to take the glove out. The glove wasn't part of the original plan" I said keeping my voice soft.

Jack watched me with calculating eyes.

I found myself wishing that I could read his mind. Even for a second. After what happened to Tosh I should have known better but... if I could just hear what he thought when he looked at me like that... I could get the answers I was looking for.

... Or it could destroy me.

Jack was always saying about the wonderful, different and impossible things he had seen. To me, he was an enigma on a whole new level.

"We'll see Anna" he said before turning back.

I sighed and slumped back in the chair.

At that moment Tosh walked in with a folder filled with paper work. She laid it down on the table and opened it to reveal yellow flyers with the title -

"Pilgrim" Tosh started drawing everyone's attention to her findings, "a religious support group, more like a debating society, meaning of life, does God exist? All that stuff. The point is, it was tiny, more like a hobby, run by Mark Briscoe's wife, Sarah. She had all that stashed in the wardrobe. Handwritten and photocopied, that's why we couldn't find any records, she wasn't even online"

I almost chuckled at the way Tosh said the last sentence. Like somebody who couldn't understand why a person didn't have the latest phone model or fashion accessory.

"No mention of Suzie, or Max?" Jack asked.

"Not a word. She didn't even keep a register," Tosh answered.

A thought struck me. I had seen this Max guys tattoo in Mark's mind. If I could concentrate enough I could recreated it. I slid my bag out from under the table and got my drawing pad out turning it to a black page and starting to sketch.

"It wouldn't be our Suzie, though. She wouldn't go to that support group bollocks," Owen said slapping the papers down on the table.

"How do you know?" Gwen challenged "I mean, were you friends? Any of you? Who was her best friend in this place?"

"She sort of kept herself to herself," Owen said avoiding the point that no one ever really spoke to Suzie.

Well unless you counted Owen sleeping with her. But I wasn't sure that was the best point to bring up, although it could be entertaining to watch Gwen's reaction to the news.

"Well, then. If she needed to talk, maybe that's exactly where she'd go; to a group of complete strangers" Gwen said reasonably.

"Could be," Jack said nodding, "you've got a point, Gwen. Time we got to know our deceased colleague a little better"

I was stubbornly quiet as they packed away getting ready to go to the locker where ll Suzie's things had been stored when she died.

"Anna" I looked up at Jack realising we were the only two left in the room.

"What?" I asked. He looked at me silently.

"I'm not coming Jack," I said simply, "I'm not going to look for reasons to bring her into this"

"Anna that's not what we're doing" he insisted leaning over the table bracing his hands on the wood, "Come on Anna. Doesn't you're instinct say this is the right road? That this is the right Suzie that the victim was talking about?"

"His name was Mark" I said sharply.

"Anna" Jack sighed, "You know the deal. You can't get so emotional over this"

"Well tough," I said, "he was a person. He had a name, a quiet happy life... and if you are right and Suzie was connected... and she caused his death... I'll never forgive her"

"You know for someone who claims to hate humanity you sure seem to care an awful lot" Jack said crossing his arms and watching me.

"I care about those that have been wronged" I justified.

I got up and walked round the table to stand in front of him. I looked up at his face, trying to figure out the best way to approach this.

"Jack... you know we don't need the gloves help. What if... what if Suzie figured out something about the glove that she never told us... What if this was planned?"

"You think Suzie knew she was going to die like that?" he asked.

"She was acting really weird those last few weeks. I spoke to you about it remember? Three days before we met Gwen.," I said and a light of recognition sparked in his eyes.

"Maybe ... But even so it'll be better to hear it from her" he said.

I sighed heavily and looked down at the floor. My waves of loose hair fell down around my face distorting my vision with the colour of burnt cinnamon.

"Can't I say anything to make you change your mind?" I asked softly.

I saw his hand move as he raised it, tucking the strands of hair behind my left ear. His hand continues its journey through my hair till he had coaxed my head high enough to look at him again. His eyes glinted a pacific blue as he grasped my shoulders in his warm hand holding me in place with his stare.

"Trust me" he said softly.

He pulled back and turned, walking away to met the rest of the team who were no doubt already waiting in the SUV.

I sighed and sat back down continuing to sketch out the tattoo image I had taken from Mark's mind.

The best word I could think to describe the way Jack was making me feel was confused. Jack did not do relationships...That was fact. Well, at least not long term ones. So why had he kissed me? He had definitely kissed me first. Granted I didn't stop it, quite the opposite.

But why after things had been so awkward between us...

That thought made me pause. He hadn't made anything awkward. I was the one who ran away. I avoided him. I couldn't speak properly too him...He on the other hand did no such thing. He had actively tired to get me closer to him. He constantly found ways to touch me now. Holding me at the roof's edge, touching my hair, cheek, neck, back, shoulders... What was the point of it?

Showing me he wasn't something to avoid? That he could be trusted?

Maybe the policy of "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" applied here. Maybe just sitting back and seeing how things went was the safest way to go. I wouldn't push to far. Let him call the shots.

I was roused from my thoughts by the table buzzing...no wait.

My phone was vibrating. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

Hinode... I pressed accept.

"Hey" I answered.

"Hey. I'm on my break. Have you got a few minutes to talk to your best friend?" she asked.

"Always" I chuckled, "what's up?"

"Oh my god you would not _believe_ the morning I've had" she sighed.

I thought back to my own eventful morning and couldn't help but smile.

"Why what happened?" I asked.

"I've had three patients all with the same injuries. One guy nearly had his throat ripped out by what looks like some form of animal, and then this couple came in not long after who were attacked by the same thing. The man had claw and bite marks all over his back, and she had her arm torn up," she said rapidly

It had clearly been stressful, if the speed she was talking at was anything to judge by.

"I hope someone's been alerted that there's a wild dog on the loose... I can't take much more of this. But the patients keep insisting that it was a huge guy in a boiler suit that attacked them. But the bites are clearly animalistic. Poor things, they must be so traumatised,"

That last sentence caught my attention. More weevil attacks? They had been rapidly increasing at an alarming rate lately.

"Are they alright?" I asked.

"Yeah. The first guy nearly died from blood loss but we pulled him back," she said clearly pleased with the result she had managed to accomplish.

"Well done"

"Thank you," she accepted with a happy sigh, "so, anyway what are you up to?"

"Not much. Right now works pretty quite. I'm the only one here,"

"Why have they left you alone?" she asked.

"Differences of opinion." I answered.

There was a moment of silence during which I could hear the background noise of the area outside the hospital. I could hear the rain hitting off the pavement. It had turned into a miserable day. Actually by now it would be dark.

"So..." Hinode started before going silent again.

I wondered what she was doing before she rushed out in one breath.

"...Were you doing anything last night?"

I froze. Hinode's voice had taken on that slightly higher pitched tone of when she was approaching a subject she wasn't sure she should be talking about.

"No" I said making sure I didn't answer too quickly.

"Really?" she answered and I didn't like the way her voice seemed to get a lot more confidence in the subject she was steering towards, "because I was walking home from work at about 2:30 in the morning... and I could have sworn I saw you near the Millennium Centre... with a very attractive man. Now are you sure that wasn't you? 'Cause it sure looked like you"

I was quiet for a long time.

She had seen me with Jack.

But how much had she seen?

"Well... supposing I say it was me, " I answered hesitantly. Honestly a part of me was curious as to what Hinode would make of Jack.

"Well I saw these two people arguing with each other. It sounded like it was getting _really_ heated and then the girl raised her hand to slap him and THEN..."

I silently begged to any God that was listening that Hinode had decided to walk away at that point.

"... He kissed her"

No such luck.

"And she kissed him back"

...Shite.

I didn't know what to say. Hinode had clearly seen everything that had gone on between Jack and I.

"Care to explain?" She asked smugness in every inch of her voice.

"Not really..." I mumbled glad that no one was around to see my blush.

"Mmmm..." she sighed in an infuriatingly condescending tone, "...you look like you really enjoyed it too"

I greeted her with a stony silence before mumbling:

"... Did not"

"You sure? Because I swear I saw you lean into him, almost like..." she paused for a moment before continuing, a smirk etched into her voice, "you were wanting _more_..."

...Silence.

"I mean, it looked like you were going to slap him then all of a sudden he was kissing you. And you definitely kissed him back without complaint. He pulled you toward him like he owned you or something. I watched you grab onto him to deepen the kiss, I watched you hold onto him as though you were trying to hold smoke with your bare hands," her voice picked up the pace as she grew more confident, "your hands were in his hair, his hands were tightly clutching your waist, your bodies were touching and it was getting _pretty _heated if you ask me. Then you pushed him back, like you were realising what you were doing, and all he had was this smug look on his face. And...you ran from him. So, who exactly was he? Please tell me you've met him before or you at _least_ know him from somewhere. He certainly smirked after you left like he knew you. So spill"

By the end of her description my cheeks were flaming red. Had I really reacted like that? Honestly hearing it being described back to me was getting me very warm under the collar.

I might have known he would be smirking after I ran.

"...Well...Em ... Yes I know him" I started hesitantly, "He's...Eh... A guy from work,"

"_Just_ a guy...?"

"Yeah" I confirmed, wondering how little I could get away with saying, "isn't that enough?"

"His trench coat says otherwise. You sure he's just a guy? He looks kinda...oh I dunno...like an authority figure, you know?" she said hinting heavily at the information she was looking for.

"Well..." I started trying to keep cool, "I guess he has a bit of authority around here"

"He's not police, is he?"

"No no," I assured her quickly, "we're not connected with the police...it's... a very small group"

"...Uh-huh? No more beating around the bush _tomodachi_, who is he exactly?"

Uh-oh, she was slipping into Japanese. When Hinode slipped into her native language it meant one of two things:

Her emotions are so intense she forgets to consciously speak English.

Or

She means business.

...This was the latter.

"...He's..." I started cringing, the battle in my head fighting over telling her the truth or not. I took a breath and jumped.

"...He's my boss" I mumbled.

"Boss? As in...the guy you work for in this secret job you have? Whoah Anna, I think you hit the jackpot. He was really handsome from where I was standing. But doesn't make it..difficult to work with him when you've kissed each other like last night?"

"He is really handsome," I said trying to stop a smile creeping onto my face, "...But yeah...I don't know what's going on really...And I've been working alongside him while being completely besotted with him for the last six months so I think I can handle-" I cut myself off from my developing rant.

Shite I hadn't meant to reveal that.

"Oh? You've had a crush on Mr. Mysterious Man for six months? Oh my God, Anna that's...so KAWAII!"

I cringed away from the phone as her voice went supersonic before I spoke again.

"Cute? CUTE? ... What about this is cute? All that's happened is that I am successfully confused and frustrated!"

"Aw c'mon Anna, this is so adorable. Besides, from the looks of him, that's probably what he wanted to happen. His smirk when you legged it wasn't an ordinary one my friend, that was like a 'Mission Accomplished' sort of smirk"

"Yeah I KNOW what smirk would have been plastered over his face...I've seen it often enough"

"So tell me, why are you confused and frustrated?...Hey wait, are you sleeping with him?"

I nearly choked on air.

"WHAT? No of course I'm not!" I strongly denied, shaking my head although she couldn't see it.

"Then why are you frustrated and confused? Is it getting complicated or something?"

"Complicated isn't the word," I muttered, "I thought he was going to ignore it. Everything's changed since he found out about my feelings for him. I avoided him mainly but he keeps on finding excuses that force us to be near each other"

As I was speaking I couldn't help but feel like a huge weight was being lifted. It felt so good to actually talk about this to an outsider.

"What do you mean everything's changed? The fact he knows and he's doing something about it?"

"But I don't know what he's doing about it. Jack doesn't do relationships" I bit my lip. I had said his name. God why was I doing this to myself.

"What if this time is different? What if he wants something like a relationship? What would you do then?"

"It's not different. Trust me. He's more into...open relationships. I don't think he could tie himself to one person, it's not his style"

"Then...is this all worth it? I'm worried that I'm going to hear you're so upset because of this guy in the near future, and I really don't want that to happen. Is this Jack guy worth this massive risk? I know how in tune you are to your emotions, and I'm concerned this may upset you for ages afterward if anything goes wrong. I'm sorry...I'm just worried about you Imoto"

"Honestly Hinode... I'm not sure what this is going to come to. What you saw was...well...our first kiss. He's so... intense, complicated... magnetizing..."

I glanced up at the sound of the hub alarm go off. They were back. They filed in and I could hear Jack's strong accented voice barking orders...It didn't sound good.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah that's him. They're back." I said standing at the glass window overlooking the centre of the hub, watching as they scattered to various work stations... I saw Jack heading towards the stairs...he was coming to find me.

"I guess this means he wants you to resume your secret job then?"

"I'm always working Hinode you know that... although it does look like I'm needed now. I'll call you later ok? We can arrange a girly night at some point"

"Yeah sure, that sounds nice. Let me know when you're free. I should probably head back in as well, a couple of emergencies have rushed in I think and they're going to need all the help they can get. Talk later Anna,"

"Bye Hinode," I slid the phone closed and slipped it into my pocket just as I heard Jack reach the door to the conference room.

I didn't turn and look at him.

"You found something didn't you?" I asked, trying to keep the defeated tone out of my voice.

I heard his footsteps move across the room till he was standing right behind me. I glanced to my right as a sheet of yellow paper came into my peripheral vision. I took it off him and looked at it feeling my heart getting heavier with each passing second.

The Pilgrim leaflet.

"We found it in her possessions," he said. I felt him place one hand on my shoulder. It was comforting.

"No choice then," I muttered, "is Owen going to get her?"

"No. I'm just going to go down to cold storage" he said, "I should do it"

"Just you're not to blame for what happened," I said.

I knew Jack had a tendency to blame himself if anything happens to the team. I couldn't imagine the mount of guilt he carried on his shoulders. All those years where he couldn't die... the amount of team mates he'd seen die in the line of duty and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked.

He wasn't ignoring my comment... he just didn't agree with it.

"No," I said simply, but I turned around to face him anyway, "still might as well get it over with right? It's only a few minutes"

"Right" he said, nodding slightly. I saw a small attempt at a smile but it couldn't quite make it.

"I'll wait in the autopsy room" I said.

As I passed him, I gently put my hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort. It wasn't often I got to comfort Jack but when I didn't... those small touches of concern and comfort I could give him... they made me feel important. In front of the team he was usually cool, calm and in control... but I wouldn't be doing my job right if I couldn't see the emotions in him that he kept hidden.

I didn't think even Jack was aware how easy he was to read for someone who's looking closely enough.

I made my way down to the autopsy room. Owen was there getting everything set up.

"Good news right?" he said sarcasm dripping in every inch of his voice.

"You gonna say anything to her?" I asked sitting down on the stairs furthest away from the door.

"Why would I do that?" he asked check the monitors, "the bitch scares the shit out of me"

"I don't know," I said, "I noticed towards the end that Suzie was acting strange... I just thought you might have too. After all, you were the one sleeping with her..." I said the last part quietly.

He paused at that and looked at me.

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

"It wasn't hard," I shrugged with a gentle voice, "you both started acting differently with each other"

"You're scary" he said turning back to the equipment.

"It's my job to notice things Owen" I said simply.

He was silent. He clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. I briefly wondered if Suzie hadn't died would he have started things up with Gwen...

...Probably.

I leant my head against the cool stone tiles. Tiredness was slowly seeping its way into my system. After a night of very little sleep and the energy drain the glove pulls it was hard to keep concentrating. The tiles felt soothing against my warm skin.

My eyes slid closed. I listen to them getting everything ready. I heard the clang of the dumbwaiter telling me that Suzie's body had been sent up from cold storage. I heard Owen and Ianto move the body onto the autopsy table. I heard the dull sound of Jack's boots and the click of Tosh's heels as they descended the stairs. I sensed Gwen taking refuge on the viewing area above us all.

Very slowly the noises started to dwindle as my mind got calmer. The cool tiles energising my skin allowing me to gather strength.

What felt like seconds later I felt a hand on my knee.

I jumped and snapped my eyes open. I saw Jack in front of me. He looked at me with serious eyes.

"It's time,"

I sighed and stood up. Ianto held out the glove to me and I took it silently trying to offer him a smile of thanks.

I turned to look at the table.

Suzie lay there dressed in the white medical gown Owen had put her in after her post mortem. Her hair mane of unkempt, curly, dark hair was still crusted with tiny icicles. The blue pallor of her skin made her look ill. Her veins showed a dark purple through her skin.

"Do we all get frozen?" I heard Gwen asked, "Torchwood staff; when we die, do we all get kept?"

"Rules and regulations," Jack answered.

"How long for?" She asked.

"Forever,"

"It's funny," I murmured still looking at Suzie, "I always said when I died I wanted to be burned. I wanted my ashes scattered on the farm back in Scotland, next to the stables"

"You had a farm?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," I looked up at her, "the only place I could practise. Private land,"

"God, you really are a country girl" Owen groaned.

"How old were you when you said that you wanted to be cremated?" Gwen frowned.

"Seven," I said shortly, looking back at Suzie.

Gwen didn't know the full story of my illness. Very few people did.

"Recording" Tosh said cutting off Gwen's reply to knowledge that I had my funeral planned at such a young age. I knew it sounded morbid.

"Have you got your stopwatch?" Owen asked Ianto.

"Always" he replied.

"I'll record from my station," Tosh said apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to look her in  
the eye. Sorry," she ran up to the workstations.

Jack watched her go silently.

"Anyone else?" he asked.

The silence was loud enough. Owen barely turned but it was clear he didn't want to be there either. I knew the invitation didn't extend to me.

"Ready Anna?" he asked.

I nodded and slid the glove on, wincing at the feeling of plunging my hand into ice cold water. The glove seemed to hum in delight. I focused on slowing my breathing and I placed my hand on Suzie's head. The glove crackled with the initial connection.

Again I focused on my feelings. Using my strong emotions for Jack to tap into the glove and drill through into Suzie's subconscious to try and bring her back. I fought through the dark until I was suddenly a white light crashed through my mind.

I gasped at the impact until the light cleared. Suddenly it was like a movie was playing in my head.

_I flinched as I heard a gun go off. I saw an image of Jack in front of the water tower as he fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head._

_Another gunshot as Suzie held the gun under her chin. I cried out as I felt the flash of pain when the bullet had gone through her skull. _

_Jack holding his hand out to her._

_Gwen sobbing._

_Suzie holding the gun trained on Gwen_

_Gwen falling to her knees while Suzie lay dead. Jack standing over them both_

"Uh, no! It's gone..." I heard Owen shout.

The glove reacted sending what felt like a bolt of electricity through my arm and I stumbled back opening my eyes as then images faded. I held onto the table trying to catch my breath, beads of cold sweat dampened my forehead.

I had never known what had happened that night.

I felt Jack's hand pushing my hair back over my shoulder and laying his hand over the side of my neck. His other hand rose up and his thumb wiped the skin under my eyes... Had I been crying?

"It was just images," I said breathlessly looking up and catching his concerned eyes, "memories of her last moments before her consciousness left her. I think it's been too long. She's too far away to bring her back,"

"What do we do now?" I heard Tosh ask from her work station.

"Nothing we can do," Jack replied as I went to sit on the stairs. My legs were shaking, "that's it. We're out of options"

I sighed and gratefully accepted the bottle of water Ianto seemed to have conjured from nowhere.

"There's always the knife," I heard Owen venture and I snapped my head round to look at him, "when she killed all those people, she always used the knife, it's made out of the same metal as the glove"

I groaned... Just when I thought we would get out of this.

Bloody Owen... He picks NOW to have a brainwave.

"We've seen it before; metallic resonance. Like the glove works better if the knife's part of the process, like closing a circuit," Tosh explained sounded almost frantic to get the rationalization out.

"Then let's use it," Gwen encouraged.

"Small detail," Jack intercepted calling everyone's attention, "the knife was used to kill people. She's already dead"

Thank God, some sense at last.

"All right. So we kill her again," Gwen said, being deadly serious.

I groaned quietly. Could this day get _any_ worse?

I didn't go with them to get the knife. I just sat on the stairs sipping my water.

I hated everything about this. The glove drained me so easily. I felt fragile and faint. Was it because the glove knew me? Knew how to get to me and draw my strength out of me?

It wasn't long before they were back and I was standing behind Suzie's head once again trawling through the black trying to find a piece of her to bring to the surface.

I saw the flash of life for the 7th time but it was gone in a millisecond.

"Jack! For the third time it's too quick it's not enough to grab onto. I'm sorry but you're going to have to stab her," I said looking at him exasperatedly.

He's looked at Owen for an instant who nodded his support.

"What the hell" he said holding the knife with both hands and raising it above Suzie chest. I closed my eyes and concentrated again.

The light was blinding and the connection was instantaneous.

The electricity fizzed into life as Suzie gasped and her body arched with new life as her eyes shot open. I cried out with the power surging through me.

Suzie started panicking as her last feelings before her death started coming back to her, blinding her to her present situation. Jack tried to get her to listen but she kept on crying about how she had to go and run away.

"Think back, try to remember" Jack coaxed "... Suzie! Suzie!" he called before his voice raised into command mode, "Look at me!"

It worked as her gaze focused on him then she noticed the knife.

"Jack! Oh, my God. There's a knife in my chest, did you kill me?" she asked frantically.

"You killed yourself, remember?" he answered quickly shaking his head.

It was getting harder to keep control with all the panic tumbling through her mind and I tried to keep hold.

"But ... Oh my God, I shot myself" she wailed.

"We've got to ask you about Pilgrim," Jack asked trying to get her to focus.

"No. Wait a minute...Didn't I kill you?" she said as she looked at Jack in confusion.

"Never mind that," he expertly skimmed over her question, "we need names and details"

"Who's using the glove?" she demanded.

"Someone who would like you to answer the bloody questions" I growled.

"You got a cheek Anastasia Nixon!" she snapped back.

"Thirty seconds" Ianto warned.

"When you were in Pilgrim you gave the amnesia pill to a man, Max, do you remember?" Jack asked, quickly sensing we were losing control of the situation.

"What? You brought me all the way back, just for Max?" she screeched in indignation.

"We need to find him," Jack insisted, "who is he? What's his surname?"

"He was...Some loser..." she said struggling to speak. She was slipping back.

"We're losing her!" Owen confirmed.

"Stay here. Damn you!" Gwen growled.

I blinked, startled. When the fuck did she move next to me?

"Don't force it, Gwen. Anna concentrate" Jack warned.

"She's not getting away this time, stay here! Don't let her get away,"

The confusion and the numerous people around me shouting didn't help. I felt my control slip and the gloves energy surged through me gleefully shooting towards its target. I tried to regain control but I was thrown back as I felt like I was punched in the gut. I felt my back connect with the wall and I slid down to the floor.

"I said don't force it!" I heard Jack say angrily.

I felt the glove being tugged off my hand and then a pair of arms were around me. The scent of cinnamon and vanilla combined with the faint tang of disinfectant told me it was Owen.

"It's all right, I've got her, I've got her ... Hold on ..." He muttered lifting my limp wrist that I couldn't seem to keep control of. I leant into Owen as he checked my pulse "Okay, pulse. She's fine. We need to get her out of here. Can you come and give me a hand?"

"It's the glove; I told you they get hooked," Jack barked.

"All right, don't make a fuss, it's over now" Owen said, trying to keep him calm.

I felt Jack move to my other side.

"I'll get her." I heard him say and I felt my weight being briefly lifted from the floor until Ianto interrupted.

"Um, excuse me. I'm still counting"

"There's not much point, Suzie's dead" Owen snapped.

"No," he contradicted making me try to open my eyes and focus, "according to the equipment, she's just unconscious"

"What the hell's going on?" I heard Jack say through gritted teeth clearly talking to Owen.

Owen left my side and I was forced to lean most of my weight of Jack. I was barely aware of the weak, trembling grip I had on his wrist until he twisted his hand to take mine in a strong, solid grip. He sat me back against the wall in a more comfortable position.

"Oh, my God." I heard Owen breath in disbelief "He's right. She's alive! Suzie's still alive. Look at her, she's bloody breathing!"

Jack left my side to rush over and look at Suzie. The horror and confusion on his face was enough to tell me the truth.

"She can't be ..." he insisted violently pulling the knife out of her chest.

"Nope," Owen shook his head, "still breathing. No stopping her. She won't die,"

"One minute thirty and counting," Ianto said looking around at everyone.

We all looked at each other quietly. The only sounds was the heart monitor beeping steadily in the shocked, uneasy silence.

* * *

Hey please reveiw. love hearing how much you guys like the story. You're all amazing !


	6. They Keep Killing Suzie Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't Own Torchwood.

A/N: Quick follow up to last chapter I know. I dedicate this chapter to sashaxh. I stayed up till 4:30 writing this so she could read it before she went on holiday. Xxx

* * *

This is bad.

This is very bad.

This is very, very BAD.

I turned on my heel to pace the other way.

One, two, three, turn.

One, two, three, turn.

One, two, three, turn.

One, two, three, turn.

One, two, three, turn.

I had withdrawn down to one of the corridors that lead to various rooms containing various junk or artefacts. It was freezing cold but I didn't care. I was too busy panicking.

It had been 19 hours since Suzie's resurrection and she was still alive.

I had gone home under orders from Jack to get as much sleep as possible. After ten hours of restless sleep I had accepted that was as good as I was going to get. Upon my return to the hub I had been informed by Jack that Suzie was still alive. She had been transferred down to the interrogation room but they weren't getting much of a response from her.

What the hell had I done? How could I have brought her back permanently?

It was all my fault for losing control.

It had all happened so fast and everyone talking had confused and distracted me. Now she was back for good. And it was all my fault.

I stopped pacing and lent against the wall nearest me, sliding down till I was sitting on the floor.

What was going to happen now?

"I thought you would never stop. That section of floor is about three shades darker than the rest of it now"

I looked up at the sound of Jack's voice in time to see him step out of the shadows. I walked over and sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry" I said quietly guilt laying in a thick blanket over my voice.

"It's only a floor" he said.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about" I said.

"It wasn't your fault Anna. None of us could have predicted this" he said, wrapping one arm around my shoulders.

"I could've" I admitted.

"...Meaning?" he asked after a pause.

"I knew towards the end... that Suzie was starting to direct the research onto full resurrection. Our research indicated that it could be done" I explained.

"But the research wasn't completed" He said confused.

"No... but the indications were there"

He was silent.

"I'm sorry. I completely screwed up. I couldn't keep control" I apologised again.

"Anna..." He said softly tightening his hold on my shoulders "... It was chaos in there. No one blames you for what happened"

"I bet she does" I muttered.

"She started it" He said simply.

I sighed heavily and leaned my head against his shoulder. It felt so comforting to have a strong presence holding onto me like this. I nestled against his muscled form inhaling the scent of sandalwood and spices that was so comforting. It felt nice... a strong warm presence in the middle of a cold, dark corridor.

I couldn't help but sigh again this time in content. Jack always had the ability to calm me down in stressful situations.

"Anna..." I heard him say and sat up slightly to look at him.

When my eyes connected with his I suddenly realised Jack didn't know what he wanted to say. We were so close my body leaning against his and our faces were inches apart. I felt my breathing go shallow as I became aware of our current closeness. I saw his eyes flick briefly down to my lips and he instinctively licked them to make then glisten with moisture. I thought I felt him move closer and it jolted me out of the trance his eyes had induced and ducked my head, breaking eye contact and looking to the floor allowing my hair to fall over my face.

He cleared his throat and made to stand up. I moved off him obligingly and he stood up and turned offering me his hand.

"Come on, she's awake. We're going to ask her about Pilgrim and Max"

I reached up slipping my hand into his. He pulled me onto my feet and with a warm hand on the small of my back he led me towards the interrogation room. Before we got there he stopped me at a small table upon which lay a familiar book.

"By the way I thought you might want this back" he said picking up my sketch pad which still had the sketch of the tattoo I had seen on the front.

"Oh yeah, thanks" I thanked him taking it, "by the way this might interest you" I said, ripping out the page with the drawing on it, "it's an image I took from Mark Briscoe's memories. I think it might be a tattoo this Max guy has. It looked like it was on an arm"

"You drew this from memory?" he asked and I nodded.

"It was like...Once I'd seen it... The memory stayed with me"

"I didn't know you could extract memories with the glove" he said, still looking at the drawing.

"It's difficult but possible. I experimented...It's a big energy drain but I managed to get a few things. This was one of them" I explained.

"Great job. This is really good" he said before turning to open the door.

"Jack!" I said making him pause as a thought occurred to me. "You didn't... look through this did you?"

He turned back with a smirk and I blushed.

"They're good likenesses. However... I think there's one missing. Maybe it's back at your house... on your dining room table" he suggested with an innocent shrug before turning and going into the interrogation room, scooping up a file folder from the table.

I stood frozen looking after him with wide eyes...Oh no...He'd seen it.

I shook my head, vowing to deal with it later and followed him into the room.

Gwen was already there and Jack had taken a seat across the table from Suzie who was slumped in a wheelchair. I knew if I were to walk down and stand behind her I would see the mess of matted hair that still glistened with blood around the huge hole where the bullet had exited. I shivered remembering the brief flash of pain I had felt during the first attempt at being her back. I wanted to feel sympathy...but I honestly could bring myself to feel sorry for her.

I knew she hadn't seen me enter the room. I stayed near the door, in the shadows watching through the wire mesh that separated the room from the stairs.

Suzie moaned when she realised there were people there and eventually mumbled in a weak voice that was raspy from disuse.

"How long's it been?" she asked.

"Three months" Jack told her.

Only three? It felt like such a long time ago.

"When can I die?" she pleaded with her eyes still closed, refusing to look at Jack, "I just want to go. Can't you leave me alone?"

"You seem to be stuck" Jack explained evenly.

She opened her eyes at that. The quickly flicked around the room focusing on Gwen and then flicking back to Jack as she slowly raised her head. Her voice was strong now... less pathetic.

"...Am I gonna stay like this? For how long?"

"Don't know" Gwen offered hesitantly.

Suzie threw her a glare that silenced her before looking back at Jack.

"Can I see my father?" she asked.

"No" Jack said in a flat out refusal.

"You wiped your records. We had no trace of him" Gwen explained in a much kinder tone.

Was Gwen actually being nice to her?

"So, he doesn't even know that I'm dead?" Suzie demanded.

"Well, you're not anymore" Gwen pointed out, ever the optimist.

"This is sick" she said, scoffing in disgust.

"You started it" Jack said repeating what he had said to me in the corridor, "right now, we've got an investigation underway"

He said pushing the folder into the middle of the table in front of Suzie and opening it.

"Pilgrim" he started taking the photos of the known pilgrim members and spreading them out in front of her, "you visited these Pilgrim meetings and gave an amnesia pill to someone called Max. How do we find him?"

"What for? What did he do? He was just an ordinary bloke" she seemed genuinely confused as to why we would be looking for him... but if there's anything I was going to keep in mind it was that Suzie was a great actress when she needed to be.

"We think the Retcon triggered a psychosis. He's started killing" Jack explained putting emphasis on the word _killing._

"How many victims?" she asked.

" Three. Same as you" Gwen told her placing down the file she had been clutching to her. I saw it contained the autopsy photos.

"We need to know, how much Retcon did you give him?" Owen's voice crackled over the PA. Clearly he and Tosh hadn't wanted to go near her.

"Owen. Hello. Scared to face me?" Suzie snarked, looking in the direction of the speakers.

"You frighten the shit out of me, yeah" Owen admitted in a matter of fact voice.

"What about Toshiko? Is she still here?"

There was long pause after that question, clearly Tosh wasn't about to talk to Suzie anytime soon.

"Yeah, she's here" Owen said speaking for her.

"And Anna? Where's she?" Suzie asked.

"Closer than you think" I answered not moving from the shadows but now I had drawn attention to myself she could see the outline of where I was.

"Hello, Anna" she said with a dangerous smile "not wanting to come to this side of the cage."

"If I had my way Suzie you would be in a prison cell serving a life sentence but this will do for now." I snarked back.

"Alright ok" Owen cut across the brewing verbal battle "All the gang together. Happy days. But the amnesia pills, how many did you give him?"

Suzie let it go and sat back sighing before reluctantly answering.

"One a week. Every week... For two years"

Even that made me step out of the shadows and start to descend towards them.

"Christ! No wonder" Owen snapped.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Jack asked stunned.

"I just ... I wanted someone to talk to. About this place. It was driving me mad. And he was just ... he listened, that's all, he just listened. Every week, as soon as I'd finished talking, I'd give him the pill." She said avoiding eye contact.

"You overdosed him" Jack said, the simmering anger clearly heard in the subtle strain of his voice.

"I didn't know that!" she defended.

"It's not like they're painkillers Suzie! You're messing with someone's head. Surely you must have been smart enough to realise" I snapped, coming to Jack's left hand side and leaning on the table.

"That's it then isn't it?" she snapped back, the water works were clearly brewing, "keep getting it wrong, don't I? Is that why you brought me back? Did you think I wasn't guilty enough?"

"Oh stop playing the victim Suzie. You brought this on yourself. Nobody else did this. And now because of you six people are dead, we've got a brainwashed maniac roaming Cardiff and everyone is blaming Torchwood for it. You did this Suzie so stop acting like you're the wounded one"

Suzie glared at me for a long time and I held her gaze. She seemed to want to challenge me but eventually she looked away.

"What was his surname?" Jack asked sensing the defeat.

"I don't know. All I ever did was talk about me" she said bitterly, "it's all my fault, isn't it? Never bloody stops being my fault. Can't you just let me die?"

"You don't get off that easy" Jack told her with a dangerous smile.

"Yeah, you did warn me, right at the beginning" she said scoffing in disgust once again. She looked at Gwen clearly trying to make her uncomfortable, "He said, "This is the one job you can never quit""

"Then let's get to work" Jack cut her off but her job had been done as Gwen shrank back, "come on, Suzie! Just like the old days. There's gotta be something"

She briefly glanced at him before slowly pulling herself upright in the wheelchair and leaning over to look at the photographs.

"Hold on...There's someone missing. This girl came every week; student, blonde...She's not in these photos" she said, looking through them.

"Who was she?" Jack asked.

"Lucy. Lucy Mackenzie. Said she worked at a club" she said straining to remember.

"Which one?" Jack asked leaning forward.

Just then Suzie moaned and seemed to wilt in front of us. Jack leaned further over the table raising half out his seat. Suzie fell back into the settling into the wheelchair once again moaning that she was tired.

Convenient.

"Come on, Suzie? Which club?" Jack coaxed but Suzie closed her eyes. Jack became insistent, "for God's sake, this Max is killing every single member of Pilgrim. Now tell me, Lucy Mackenzie, where did she work, which club?"

"Wolf. The Wolf Bar" she moaned before fully slumping in the chair.

Gwen turned to leave the room. Jack looked after her before sitting back down and observing Suzie.

"What do you think?" he asked not looking at me.

"I think that sudden dizzy spell was far too convenient for her" I said still watching her.

"You think she's faking?" he asked.

"I don't care if she is" I said, "she's up too something and I've suddenly got the horrible feeling of a trap"

"Don't you think you're letting your previous arguments with Suzie cloud your judgement?" he asked.

"Maybe...But there's something bothering me about this. I just hope I can figure it out before another one of us gets killed"

I turned without another word and left the room.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on her?"

I turned and faced the familiar welsh voice. Gwen had been waiting on me.

"No. I'm not going to coddle her Gwen. She's in the wrong and she should have stayed in cold storage. I don't need your opinion Gwen. You have no idea what the glove is capable of so don't try and pretend you know everything about this"

Gwen looked at me for a second before turning and stalking back up to the hub.

"Looks like I'm making friends everywhere" I muttered following her silently.

I may be making an enemy out of Gwen and Suzie...But I was never one for keeping my opinions to myself... Even if they did cause me a hell load of trouble.

* * *

I groaned as we entered The Wolf Bar. It was music that usually I would really like but my head was beating out a rhythm that was far from pleasant. The bar was hot and sweaty and filled with people. If it had been my night of and I was with Keith and Jasmine and all that crew I would be joining in but right now I wanted to crawl into bed with Owen's miracle painkillers, a soppy romance movie and chocolate.

We had left Suzie at the hub with Toshiko. They were both watching on the monitors. I felt bad leaving Tosh alone with her but Jack said that Owen and I had to be at the club because we could blend in. Jack and Gwen were more obvious but Jack had the muscle to take down Max and Gwen had been on the beat in her police days so she could handle it if a bar fight broke out.

"Any sign of Max or this Lucy Mackenzie?" I heard Gwen ask Suzie over the headsets.

"Nothing yet. Keep moving round"

"Keep alert, people. To repeat, Max is described as 40, six-three, six-four, stocky, short dark hair, tattoo down his left arm" Jack described.

"That narrows it down" I heard Owen say drolly.

"It was on the paper I gave you before we left Owen" I said.

"How did you know what it was?" he asked.

"I took it from Mark Briscoe's memories" I said quickly.

"Oh Anna you have been working hard" I heard Suzie's voice say smugly.

"Shut it" I snapped.

"Wait, I've got a match on that guy" Owen said grabbing our attention.

"Where is he?" I saw Jack on the other side of the club trying to see Owen through the mass of people.

"Northwest Bar" he said.

"Show me," Suzie ordered quickly.

I stood up slightly on a vacant stool to see over everyone and quickly spotted Owen. Jumping down I tried to manoeuvre my way over to him.

"Owen, get in closer, which one do you mean?" Suzie asked.

"Wait, he's going over for the ... wait, I've got a match on our girl, Lucy Mackenzie, the student"

"That's her, that's definitely her" Suzie confirmed.

By this point I was close enough to see Owen and the guy he was watching but I couldn't see his tattoo to know if it was him or not. I quickly scanned to see Lucy and spotted her collecting glasses... and heading straight for the guy Owen suspected was Max.

"It's too late, he's going over" Owen said quickly and I saw him rushing at the guy. I rushed from the other side getting to Lucy as the two men crashed at our feet. Lucy yelped as the crowd pulled back, the combination of the fight and quick movement nearly making her drop the tray of empty glasses she was holding. I steadied the tray for her with a hand on her shoulder and guided her quickly through the crowd that had gathered round the struggling men. There were three now since Jack had joined in.

"Thanks" Lucy breathed and I smiled.

"No problem. Last thing we need is stupid idiots impaling themselves on broken glass. You better get that tray behind the bar"

She nodded and scurried away headed for the safety of behind the bar. I turned and made my way back towards the fight.

"That isn't him!" I heard Suzie shout at the struggling men as I reached the centre of the circle. We all froze and looked around. Well if that hadn't drawn attention to us nothing would. I glanced at Gwen and then shouted.

Behind her a tank of a man was raising a knife. It was too crowded for me to throw my dagger without risking hurting someone and Gwen was in my target line.

"Gwen! Behind you!" my shout was echoed by Suzie, which for once I was thankful for. Gwen couldn't hear me over the noise of the club.

Jack however, had heard me. He sprung up as the knife reached its highest point to slash down, grabbed Max's arm and twisted it in a painful angle making him drop the knife. Then he seemingly out of nowhere produced a gun and fired it into Max's back at point blank range sending him crashing to the floor. I noted the crackle of electricity and looked closely at the gun.

"That's one for Ianto. Risen mitten, life knife and that old classic, stun gun. Come on. Let's get him out of here" Jack said triumphantly.

I shook my head laughing softly. Stun gun? Boys and their toys I guess.

"You saved my life" Gwen said gratefully over the headset to Suzie.

"Maybe I came back for a reason" she replied softly.

Yeah, that glove was the reason. And when that glove was involved...the reason was never good.

* * *

I sat on the floor opposite the cell listening to Owen asking Max questions.

"Okay, so your name is Max Tresillian, can you confirm that?"

Nothing.

"You live at 106 Endeavour Terrace, is that right?"

Nothing.

"Parents, Sandra and Dave, yeah?"

Nothing.

"You're inside the Torchwood facility"

Caged animal. He stood up growling and pounding on the security glass door.

"- and five, six ... Keep watching. Soon as we reach ten ..." Owen counted making sure Jack and I were paying attention.

Just as suddenly as Max started the rage he stopped, sat down and continued starting into space.

"Just stops dead." Owen obviously pointed out, "if this is a drug-induced psychosis, it's a very specific one"

"Like he reacts to the word Torchwood" Jack said.

I rolled my eyes and held my head as the pounding of Max's meat like fists on the door kicked the pain in my head up to about a 7.

"Thanks, Jack" I heard Owen say sarcastically and I held a thumb up in mock approval.

"Sorry" he said. He wasn't I could hear the smirk in his voice "But if that's caused by Retcon, we've got a million more problems on the way. Let me know what the scan says"

I struggled to push myself up using the wall for support and went to follow Jack out but Owen stopped us.

"But, what about Suzie? What are you gonna do with her?"

"No idea" he looked pointedly at Owen, "what do you think?"

"You're the boss" he said.

So Owen didn't want any part of this. He was happy to step aside and let Jack make the tough decisions when it came to Suzie.

Jack nodded and turned away but paused for a second.

"Jack don't-"

"Torchwood"

I growled and smacked his arm before stalking out.

"Right that's it I'm taking pain killers and a bottle of water down to the aquarium. No one disturb me unless someone's dying" I said.

As I walk down the corridor heading for the main body of the hub I suddenly felt sick. My vision tunneled before blacking out and my head felt like it was being squeezed through a vice. My legs shook and I stumbled. I put my arm out and steadied myself leaning against the wall. I blinked hard to clear my vision and took in big lungfulls of air.

"Anna?"

I felt Jack and Owen next to me in a matter of seconds.

"I'm fine" I said quickly.

"No you're not, what's wrong" Owen insisted.

"Migraine is all" I insisted.

"How bad?" asked Owen taking a small torch out his pocket and shining it in my eyes.

"About a seven but it just spiked there for a second and the bright light is NOT helping!" I swatted him away.

"How long have you had it?" Owen asked in full doctor mode.

"It kicked off a couple of hours after Suzie was brought back. It's the glove... I told you... mental mind fuck"

"Jack keep an eye on her. I'm going to see if I can find anything"

It was strange to see Owen ordering Jack what to do but in this he was the medic and knew procedures.

Jack led me the rest of the way into the hub with Owen following behind us.

"Guys I swear I'll be fine it'll fade with time" I insisted.

"We're not taking the chance" Jack said as Owen nodded and sat down at his work station.

Jack led me into his office and sat me down on the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

I shrugged .

"Didn't think it was important"

Jack sat and looked at me quietly.

"Stop it" I said.

"Stop what?" he asked failing to hide the smirk tugging at the right corner of his mouth and the twinkle of knowing humor in his eyes.

"Looking at me like that"

The smirk widened showing he wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

"Fine but while we're here why don't you just tell me how much of my drawings you saw?" I asked.

"You were so protective over the book... I admit curiosity got the better of me" he said "although I am curious as to what inspired such a project"

"Years of reading fantasy novels" I answered, "one day I just thought of the idea. Trying to figure out what kind of creature each of the team would be"

In reality Keith and I had been people watching from a cafe. We speculated just what kind of fantasy creature random people in the street would be. We came up with everything from goblins and brownies to sprites and fairies to centaurs and vampires. It had sparked my mind into thinking what each other the team would be based on their personality traits.

"And what decided what each of them would be?" Jack asked.

"Personality and behavior" I answered.

"So Tosh was..." he started.

For some reason I liked explaining this to Jack. He liked knowing how the team got along with each other. This was a pretty unique way of caring about them.

"... A wood nymph; Down to earth, beautiful and shy" I answered.

"Owen?"

"... An elf; healing, untrusting and loyal"

"Ianto?"

"Brownie; helpful and friendly"

"Gwen?"

"Mermaid; different aspects of various legends either a) helpful friendly and happy or b) sinister and quick to judge"

"Not too fond of that one then" he commented.

"Hey I loved the little mermaid" I defended and he chuckled.

"... and me?" he asked.

I sucked in a breath. His was the most important for reasons he himself wasn't even aware of. That's why I kept it at home. He must have seen it when I had been out cold from when he stitched me back up.

I shivered remembering a soothing voice, a comforting hand pushing back my hair and the whisper of a kiss on a cold, clammy forehead.

"Yours... was..." I started slowly trying to finding the right words. It would require me to tell the story of that night... and I couldn't figure out why I connected him too it.

I jumped as the door was flung open and I winced as it banged loudly against the filing cabinet behind it...just when I was starting to relax. Gwen stormed in fuming and began pacing behind me not even saying anything.

"I had a boyfriend who used to walk into rooms like that. The grand entrance" Jack said unimpressed, "it got kind of boring. Although, he was one of twins, so I put up with it. Twin acrobats. Man, I gotta write that book. Maybe even illustrate it. I can talk for a long time, a very long time-"

"-Takes me a while to piece things together" Gwen started finally putting an end to Jack provoking speech.

"Meaning?" he asked.

"Suzie had the glove. You put her in charge of it. But tell me, Jack, did you ever ask about her father?" she asked rounding on him.

"How do you mean?" Jack asked.

"He's got cancer. He's been dying slowly now for years. And what do you do? You give his daughter the one device that brings people back to life! Is it any wonder she got obsessed?" Gwen asked agitatedly.

"Oh, so this is all my fault?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Well, isn't it?" she accused placing her hands on the desk next to me and leaning in on Jack. I winced again as her raised voice got in closer range of me and I placed my forehead in my hands trying to sooth the ache as Gwen kept talking "Did you ever stop and think? Did you ... Did you ever look at Suzie? Did you ever ... think what that glove would do to her, did you?"

"You been talking to her way too much Gwen" I pointed out.

"You didn't talk to her enough Anna" she shot back.

"She didn't either. I'm sorry Gwen but in this you really are the new girl. Suzie is preying on the weakness that you didn't know what she was like before. She puts on this front to make her look like the victim and we're all the bad guys who didn't hear her call for help when she was alive. She never spoke about her father, never told us anything about a personal life. She got obsessed with that glove because like every other greedy human on this earth she wanted eternal life"

Throughout my speech I hadn't moved still trying to ease the ever growing ache in the back of my skull.

"You clearly didn't know her Anna. If you would just-" Gwen started.

I stood up abruptly.

"- for crying out loud just accept that for once you're wrong and you're acting out of guilt. Stop trying to make us look like the bad ones. Do you even know how much it hurts that you're willing to turn on us like this when you've known us for three months and Suzie for two days? And she tried to kill you. So stop preaching and start thinking"

I walked out of the office intending to get some fresh air. It was getting to stuffy down here. I flung on my jacket and stuck my earphones in setting the playlist to random.

Once I got out of the tourist information office I took in big breathes of fresh air. A cold night nipped at my exposed skin playfully and I felt a sense of calm descend over me. I softly vocalised along with the classical flute piece that was playing through the headphones as I walked in a relaxing circuit around the Roald Dahl Plass eventually coming to the car park the Torchwood staff used.

I took out the headphones and opened my car door. Sitting down in the driver's seat I clicked on the CD player and slid a classical CD into the slot. I closed my eyes and relaxed against the seat enjoying the cold breeze caressing my face through the open door and the soft strains of Tchaikovsky's "None but the Lonely Hearts" leaking from the speakers.

A while later a noise disturbed me. I opened my eyes and shut off the speakers. Getting out of the car and looked around for the noise. I blinked when I located it hoping the image would vanish.

Nope... Gwen was still there... with Suzie... and she was helping Suzie into her car!

"I'm taking you to see your dad and that's it, okay?"

I slammed the door of my car shut making both women jump. Gwen spun around and saw me.

"Gwen what the hell do you think you're doing"

"Taking her to see her dad. A quick visit and then I'll bring her back"

"Don't tell me Jack agreed to this" I said incredulously.

Her silence told me everything. She slammed the car door shut and went round to the driver's side.

"Look Anna you've got two options here. You can run and tell Jack or you can come with us to "babysit". Your choice"

"You are dangerously close to insubordination Gwen" I threatened.

"Well tough Suzie needs to see her father and I'm going to take her there with or without you"

I stood at the car, torn at the decision. I looked up to where I knew the nearest camera linked to the hub was then looked back at the car. Then to the camera... then the car.

Gwen was getting in and starting the engine.

I took once last look at the camera and opened the back door diving into the back seat just before Gwen pulled out from the stall.

"I must be mad. Jack's not stupid. He's gonna catch us"

Hopefully.

"Oh, you never know. We might get lucky"

My stomach clenched... maybe help was further away than I'd hoped.

* * *

_Sending Failed..._

_Sending Failed..._

_Sending Failed..._

I resisted the urge to scream. I had been trying to get a message to Jack for the last 45 minutes during which I had steadily started to feel worse and worse.

My headache had growing to the pain intensity that was off the scale.

My skin felt cold but I felt hot.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

I felt dizzy and weak.

Whatever was happening to me wasn't a mere migraine. It was something much worse.

The fact that I couldn't get through to anyone at the hub was distressing me even more because i was in no condition to protect myself and Gwen didn't know there was anything to be protected from.

I couldn't believe that Suzie's "_we might get lucky" _commenthadn't concerned her.

I had sat in the back hiding as much of my emotions as possible. I'm sure I only looked ill. I had been careful in hiding the fact I had been text the hub... or trying to. It didn't matter 'cause I had been ignored the entire time.

"A bit more colour in your cheeks," Gwen commented smiling at Suzie who smiled back at her.

"Trust me the company is doing wonders for my health" she said.

There was a long pause before Suzie spoke again.

"That night ... my last night on Earth, or so I thought ... ... before I shot myself, I shot Jack right through the head. I killed him, stone dead and then he just stood up and lived. Am I right? Did that happen?" She asked. Gwen seemed reluctant to answer but did so after another prompt "Gwen?"

"Yes, it did"

"So he can survive a bullet through the head?" Suzie asked in confusion.

"Yeah" Gwen confirmed.

"How?" she demanded.

"I don't know. He won't explain it properly. Said something happened to him a while back. He said...He said he can't die. Not ever"

"And he makes judgments about whether I'm allowed to live" Suzie scoffed, "it's all very easy for Captain Jack, isn't it?"

I resisted the urge to say anything. It wasn't easy for Jack...Was I the only one who could see the pain in his eyes? The years of suffering, during which he had lost so many colleagues and friends showed every time one of us was in danger. Every time I could almost clearly hear the words:

_Not another one._

"Do you ever wonder?" Suzie asked.

"What?" asked Gwen confused at the general question.

"Who is he?"

"All the time,"

On that point... I couldn't argue.

* * *

We drove in silence again. I struggled to stay awake, still trying to get through to Jack or Tosh or Owen. I pinched myself to keep awake. Eventually I stopped trying the phone... they'd find us in the end.

"Oh, God, driving at night ..." Gwen sighed and turned the radio on.

"Oh, my God" Suzie said, looking at the radio.

"I don't know this one," Gwen said smiling at Suzie's recognition

"It's ancient. My Mum used to sing this, when I was a kid. All those years ago...Before I died"

I looked up as I heard the sounds of Suzie crying. I saw Gwen shift uncomfortably, clearly regretting putting on the music. Watching at the passenger's side mirror I saw Suzie glancing over at Gwen checking her reaction.

Crocodile tears.

After twenty minutes of awkward silence, once the radio had been turned off, Gwen spoke up.

"When you're dead...I mean, when you die...What happens?"

A now calm Suzie looked at her in a scrutinising manner.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

"The truth" Gwen said.

"Really?" Suzie asked.

No not really. I wondered how many times Gwen had refrained from asking Jack this question. She wouldn't have because she knew she would get the right answer.

The living shouldn't know.

"Tell me," Gwen insisted.

"You religious?" Suzie asked.

Great a religious talk. There was a reason I skipped R.M.E at school. It caused too many arguments. I vaguely listened as Gwen rambled on about a pearly white heaven that was straight out of a children's book.

"Your faith never left primary school," Suzie said partly laughing.

Wait...Had I just agreed with something Suzie said?

"So what's out there?" Gwen asked.

"Nothing... Just nothing" Suzie said simply.

Nothing?

"But, but if there's nothing, what's the point of it all?" Gwen asked.

"This is. Driving through the dark. All this stupid, tiny stuff. We're just animals, howling in the night, cos it's better than silence. I used to think about Torchwood, all those aliens, coming to Earth ...What the hell for? But it's just instinct. They come here cos there's life, that's all. Moths around a flame. Creatures clinging together in the cold"

I tried not to count how many times I agreed with that sentence. Maybe Jack was right. Maybe I was too cynical.

I winced quietly biting my lip at another stab of pain from my head.

"So when you die, it's just..." Gwen asked, still confused.

"Darkness" Suzie finished.

"And you're all alone? There's no-one else?" Gwen asked clearly not liking the answers she was getting.

See, this is why the living shouldn't know.

"I didn't say that," Suzie contradicted.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked and even I frowned at the cryptic words.

"Why do you think I'm so desperate to come back? There's something out there...In the dark...And it's moving"

Now I really wished I didn't know.

* * *

After that conversation it wasn't long until we reached the hospital. Gwen got out of the car running into grab a wheelchair for Suzie.

"What are you up to Suzie?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

I twitched as the next spike of pain felt like I had been punched in the back of the head.

"This is all a bit too convenient," I said.

She turned around and smirked.

That smirk told me two things.

I had been right.

And

I was in danger in even bigger danger than I had originally thought.

"Have you told him yet?" she asked and I frowned in confusion grabbing the back of my head as the spikes increased in number.

"Told who?" I asked.

"Have you told Jack about your pathetic little crush on him?"

I froze.

"It's sad really. That the only emotion you could harness to bring me bring was your obsession with him. Although I suppose you would rather I say, your "love" for him? Honestly, it's like something out of a crappy romance novel... well it's a shame... if you haven't already told him...you'll never get the chance now"

It was then I registered just how well Suzie looked. She had been getting stronger... I had been getting weaker. I moved my fingers and felt dread build up like bile in my stomach. I pulled my hand forward into my line of sight.

It glistened with a substance I was all too familiar with.

Blood.

"What have you done?" I demanded angrily. The spike in energy from the anger only served to drain me further and I slumped back.

I didn't need her to tell me. I could work it out. It was being reversed. I brought Suzie back to life... so now I had to die.

A life for a life.

I was being shot in the head slowly.

I was dying.

"I'm going to take the panic in your eyes as a sign you've figured it out," said Suzie.

She slumped back just as Gwen came back into view. When she opened Suzie's door and uncuffed her Suzie spoke.

"Anna's not feeling well. She's gonna stay behind while I see my father,"

I didn't argue.

Something had caught my attention.

My phone had received a text

Tosh!

_Help coming! Hold on. Suzie locked us in the Hub. Jack and Owen on their way. Roads cleared by police so they won't be long. Stay safe Xxx_

I didn't argue because being left alone in the car I could phone them.

I watched as Gwen helped Suzie into the wheelchair and wheel her off into the hospital...Locking the car behind her.

Once I saw them enter the hospital I clicked number 1 on my speed dial.

"Hello?" asked the voice on the other end confused at who could be phoning them in a crisis like this. I nearly cried with relief at hearing that voice.

"Jack!" I said frantically.

"Anna!" I heard both Jack and Owen shout in relief.

"Anna what's happening?" Jack asked quickly.

"Suzie and Gwen have gone into the hospital...And...And I'm dying" I said trying not to let my voice break.

"Anna, you need to stay calm" Jack said keeping calm probably for my sake.

"Jack...I'm scared" I whimpered, "I can feel the bullet even though it's not there. The back of my head is bleeding. I'm replicating the wounds she had. I'm being shot in the head slowly. And it fucking hurts!"

"Anna we're coming to get you. We're going to stop this I swear to you"

"How long have I got Owen?" I asked my voice starting to break.

"Long enough for us to get to you" he assured me.

I didn't fully believe him but it felt better to accept that response.

"What happened? I tried to get you through the phone" I asked.

I didn't really care. I just wanted to hear them speak. To hear their voices...If it was going to be the last time.

As they explained the whole situation I couldn't help thinking about all the things I regretted.

Not being closer to my parents.

Not having that girly night with Hinode.

Not singing on stage one last time.

...The way I'd handled my situation with Jack.

I felt myself getting weaker with each passing moment as Suzie drained my strength. Suddenly a movement caught the corner of my eye.

"Oh no" I breathed.

"What is it?" Jack asked instantly.

"Suzie's coming back...Gwen's not with her and Suzie's walking," I said starting to panic.

"Anna keep calm. We've got a tracker on the car. We won't lose you. We're catching up" Jack assured, although I heard the definite rumble of the of the SUV engine as Jack pushed it to its limit.

"Hurry" I pleaded before shutting off the phone before Suzie saw.

I watched as she hurried to the car and jumped in the driver's seat. She started the engine and tore out of the car park.

"What did you do?" I demanded although it sounded pathetically weak, "where's Gwen?"

"Sleeping with a bump on her head" she snapped "Now pipe now little girl, the grownups are talking"

I didn't get what she meant at first until she lifted a phone to her ear, driving with one hand.

"Did you like the poem, Jack?"

I tried to pull myself up and grab the phone but I was too weak to even do that. Besides I would most likely assist in crashing the car then I might as well be dead. I kept quiet and listened trying to conserve what little strength I had in case I had to struggle later.

I listened as Suzie tried to justify her actions to Jack. Telling him that he still had the new amazing Gwen Cooper and what was left of me would live on through her. I heard as she started getting desperate and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Because life is all, Jack. You should know. I'd do anything to stay. Anything,"

I thought she had hung up but she stopped to say one final thing.

"She's a real fighter this one. You always knew didn't you Jack? That's why you gave her my job. You stole her normal life. Now I'll steal what's left... Jack, I'm sorry,"

She hung up and flung the phone down.

In the silence that followed I did what any scared 19 year old girl would do.

I cried.

* * *

It was morning by the time I felt the car rumble to a stop. I felt the door open and I nearly fell out the car.

"It's beautiful, Anna. Can you see?"

I couldn't...The darkness was closing in on me. I struggled as hard as I could as Suzie dragged me out the car.

"It's such a beautiful sight Anna," she said gleefully as she dragged and pulled me along with her.

With a great effort I tried to grab a hold of her neck.

I was violently twisted round and grabbed by the front of my jacket. Somewhere not too far away my mind registered the skid of tyres screeching to a halt and a familiar engine rumble cut out.

They'd found us!

I struggled again and forced myself to try and open my eyes. I could only manage a few millimetres but it was enough to see Suzie's manic, gleeful gaze in front of me.

"Safe journey" she whispered and kissed my forehead.

Then she got further away.

Further.

And further.

And further.

It wasn't till ice cold penetrated my body that I pieced things together.

Suzie had been running, heading for the coast.

I gasped for air and instead was suffocated by oppressing darkness.

...Suzie had pushed me off the harbour.

...Into the ice cold water.

...To drown...

_I'm sorry._

* * *

_I cried out in fear. _

_Everywhere around me was black. _

_I couldn't see my own hands in front of me._

_I was alone._

_Completely alone._

_A noise to my right startled me._

_Maybe not so alone then._

"_Hello?" I called out into the darkness._

_I felt something cold and clammy brush my back and I jumped._

"_Who's there!" I demanded reaching for my dagger... it wasn't there._

_A cold, chilling laugh torn through my lungs like iced air._

"_Soon" a voice growled, "soon..." _

_A pair of arms grabbed me._

_I screamed._

* * *

I jumped screaming out in terror feeling like a bolt of lightning had shot through my system. I struggled to get up, panicking as a pair of arms wound tightly around me holding me down. I screamed and struggled even more.

"Anna! Anna! It's me," I heard a familiar voice shout.

I looked up startled to see Owen holding me close, his clothes, hair and skin were dripping wet. A shiver went through me as the cold breath reminded me of my similar state. I looked at Owens face before all the pent up emotions fell out in one big massive breakdown.

I threw myself into his arms and sobbed. I cried and screamed in fear and relief, fighting away the lingering terror.

I don't know how long I cried for but I was aware at some point a warm weight was draped over my frozen, shivering body. The scent of spices and sandalwood infused my senses... Jack!

I was scooped up into a pair of strong arms and carried past yelling police officers and wailing police cars. But none of it mattered as I cried and whimpered.

I cried and cried and cried.

Until, finally my tears led me away to a dreamless blanket of sleep.

* * *

I moaned and struggled as I slowly regained consciousness. The light tried to fill my sight but the darkness kept pulling me back.

No! Must fight! Can't let the darkness win!

I struggled and kicked and screamed until a pair of strong hands wrapped round my shoulders and shook me violently.

"Anna, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and I was relieved to find myself staring into a face I never thought I'd see again.

"Jack?" I whispered gazing in wonder at his face.

"Hey..." he whispered back looking down at me with soft brook water blue eyes. "It's ok now. It's over. Suzie's dead"

I blinked as the memories started flooding back to me.

"You made it," I rasped as my throat protested anything above a whisper.

"I promised I would" he said, smiling and sitting back helping me into a sitting position.

I looked around.

I was in my room. The light quality told me it was probably late afternoon. I looked down at myself. I was in my bed in only my underwear and Jack's greatcoat wrapped around me and under my bed covers.

"We're making a habit of this," I remarked, clearing my throat and forcing it to work. I picked nervously at the covers well aware of my state of undress.

I had meant for it to be funny but I looked up when I failed to hear him chuckle.

He was sitting on the edge of my bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his knuckles white with tension. His mouth was set in a firm line...He looked...Worn out.

"Jack?" I asked softly trying to indicate I wanted him to tell me what was wrong.

"I'm sorry Anna" he said, not looking at me.

I didn't need an explanation. I pushed the covers off me crawling towards him, hampered slightly by the weight of his coat.

"Hey...You got there in time" I said wrapping my arms around him as best I could in the awkward position we were in.

"Barely" he muttered "Owen thought he was going to lose the battle. Even if we destroyed the connection, you still weren't breathing because of the water in your lungs"

"Shot in the head and drowned in the same day? Beat that," I said smiling slightly.

I just wanted him to laugh.

He didn't.

"Well I'm alive because Owen is the wonderful doctor you knew he was so there's nothing to worry about" I said sliding off the bed and walking over to my wardrobe. I opened the oak furnished doors and extracted my black silk dressing gown.

After a brief moments hesitation with Jack in the room I unwrapped his greatcoat and slid it off my shoulders, placing it on the desk next to me. I pulled on the dressing gown still not looking at him but something made me pause as I tied the knot in the fastening.

"Jack...Is that what you always see...When you die...The darkness"

He was silent for a long time before quietly answering.

"Yes"

I looked down at the belt and continued fastening it until it was secure before turning back round to face him. I blushed as I saw him looking at me intently. I walked over holding his coat and handed it back to him. He laid it wordlessly on the bed next to him and then looked up at me. I stood close to him looking down at his pain filled, guilt ridden eyes.

"Please" I begged reaching out to cup his jaw, "don't blame yourself. I'm fine"

The pain and guilt didn't fade.

One of his hands reached up and touched my cheek softly. Slightly calloused fingers traced over my features. My forehead, cheeks, the bridge of my nose, my eyelids...My lips. Every part of my face was touched by those exploring figures. It would like he was memorising my face.

I looked at him silently allowing him to do so.

"I'm sorry" he said again.

"I forgive you" I whispered.

Then with a brief moment of hesitation I cupped his face with my other hand, leant down and placed my lips on his.

I kissed him with all the passion I had felt for him. Trying to wordlessly show him how often I had wanted to do so. I wanted him to feel the regret I had felt when I had realised I was going to die without kissing him myself.

Jack didn't waste a second in raising his hands and burying them in my hair kissing me back with a dominance only he could manage. I moaned as he brushed his tongue over my lips and I opened them allowing my tongue to enter into a battle of control with his.

He won outright and his arms moved to my waist carefully, yet skilfully guiding me back down to the bed. He lay on top of me, his weight pinning me to the bed as he ravished my mouth with his tongue. His hands caressed my face and neck making me moan and arch into him. He gently drew away from the fierce battle of dominance until the rough, harsh kisses had been replaced by gentle, soft ones that trailed from my mouth, down my throat and up the side of my neck. My head lolled to the side desperate to give him more room. Jack gently placed one last kiss on the corner of my mouth and pulled back looking down at me.

I opened my eyes looking hazily at him. I could only imagine what I looked like. My lips swollen from our kissing and my cheeks flushed with arousal. My hair was probably a bed head mess considering the water it had last been washed in...But none of that mattered with Jack on top of me...Looking down at me like I was... Special...Special to him.

He smiled softly and rolled off me but didn't get off the bed.

I lay next to him, curled up against his warm, muscled form. I breathed deeply inhaling the scent I had come to love so much.

Silent security.

It could have been a minute...It could have been an hour...It could have been 4 hours.

Whatever the timescale, I didn't care.

Eventually I felt the pull of sleep again and I yawned widely. Jack's chest rumbled with a deep chuckle.

"Go to sleep Anna"

"Stay with me" I begged.

"I'm here" he reassured.

I settled down and started to succumb to the pull of sleep when Jack spoke again.

"By the way Anna...Will you ever tell me...About the drawing?"

I was silent... but one hand clasped around the silver pendant that always hung there. I felt the comforting shape of the familiar adornment and smiled softly.

"Maybe...maybe one day," I mumbled before drifting off into a sea of intoxicating scents, ever changing blue eyes, warm soft lips...

...And dark blue wings.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked. Please reveiw (reveiws are my life. seriously im so sad they're the only thing i keep on the first page of my inbox)


	7. Out Of Time Part 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Torchwood. And unfortunately never will.**

**A/N: Hey I'm back! Again sorry for the wait. No excuses. Hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. It's more personal than any other chapter I've done as of yet. love to all my readers. Hope you like it! R&R if you do!**

* * *

"Jack, have you heard from Anna today?" Owen asked poking his head round the door of his employers office.

"No, she's not coming in till later" Jack replied, looking up from the stack of papers in front of him.

"Yeah I know that" Owen nodded coming fully into the room "But even so she usually keeps her phone on"

"Maybe she's rehearsing for that show or she's at a movie" Jack shrugged.

"She'd have her phone on silent not switched off" Owen pointed out.

It was true, Anna almost always kept her phone on incase they needed her.

"What do you need her for anyway?" Jack asked, receiving a grave look from the medic for doing so.

"Something's come up and... we need her opinion on it before we proceed" he said skirting around answering the question directly.

"Owen what is it?" Jack insisted concerned at the man's careful response.

"It's her friend... Hinode"

Jack groaned.

* * *

1 hour later Jack sat in the SUV outside the huge painted white building. This was the spot where Tosh had tracked Anna's car. Jack could see the dark green vehicle from his current position. So she was here... odd.

Anna would never go to a hospital voluntarily.

There couldn't have been anything wrong with her. It would have flagged up on the Torchwood system as soon as she was admitted as a patient. So what the hell was she doing here?

As he exited the SUV, Jack allowed an amused smile to spread across his lips. He remembered Anna's very brief explanation of her seduction of the hospital's mortician in order to gain access to the hospital records. He would never admit it but seeing her flustered when talking to him about another man... well, it stroked his ego.

Jack was now well aware of the redhead's view of him. He now knew that the reason Anna had never spoken about boys and dates was because since she'd met him she'd never had any.

In her eyes no one could measure up to him. Whilst the vain part of Jack revelled in that knowledge there was a large part of him that wished that wasn't the case.

Anna's view of him was extremely misguided. She had a sort of hero worship infatuation when it came to him. Although he didn't actively work to tarnish that view of him in her eye there was a large part of him that was aware her feelings were not going to be healthy in the long run.

The problem was he didn't want to do anything to deter those feelings.

Jack knew his connection with Anna had been special right from the beginning. She understood him in a way no one else did and she didn't even know him that well. Although her feelings for him had developed over time the sharp red head knew when to talk to him, when to obey him, when to challenge him, when to stand up to him and most important of all... when to comfort him... and when to trust him.

Jack thought back to that moment 2 days ago. Although he had been over whelmed with guilt he couldn't help but feel proud of Anna. When the actually role reversal had happened he wasn't quite sure, but sure enough she had been the one comforting him. She had taken control and assured him that he had nothing to feel guilty over.

Jack wasn't sure how she did it but she seemed to empathise with his feeling when it came to the safety of the team. Over the years he had lost so many friends, colleagues and lovers ... but it was deeper than that... he knew the darkness they were being dragged into.

... And that was something Anna understood now more than ever.

As Jack entered the hospital he consulted his wrist strap trying to trace where Anna was. The signal was faint but eventually led him up to the 4th floor of the building.

"Excuse me sir can I help you?"

Jack looked up at the sound of someone addressing him.

Standing in front of him was a girl who looked not that much older than Anna, he would have hazarded a guess at early twenties which is why he was quite surprised to see her frame adorned in a white doctor's coat.

The young woman's skin tone was strikingly similar to Toshiko's, if a bit lighter. Her hazel green eyes were regarding him with a cool indifference... Jack stole a quick glance at her name tag.

Dr Hinode Sakurai

... ah so this was Hinode.

"Yes actually I believe you can Dr. Sakurai" Jack smiled turning on his charming grin.

Hinode blinked in surprise at the knowledge of her name but then her quick brain remembered her name tag and she relaxed.

"What can I help you with Captain?"

This time it was Jack's turn to be surprised. Hinode allowed a small smirk cross over her expression.

"My grandfather was in the RAF"

"Ah a military man in the family" he smirked, impressed by her observation skills. "Anyway back to business. I'm looking for Anna... I believe you're close with her."

Hinode's eye suddenly became guarded, clearly protective of the girl he was inquiring about.

"Can I see some identification?" she asked.

"I'm a close friend" Jack told her, not wanting to use his Torchwood ID. He knew Hinode didn't know Anna was connected with Torchwood. Working in a hospital meant that she could have a preconceived idea of Torchwood that could tarnish her view of Anna. Jack refused to be responsible for that.

"I'm going to need more than that Captain" Hinode insisted.

"Look just go and see her and tell her Jack's here to talk to her" Jack insisted.

Hinode scrutinized him for a second before relenting.

"No it's ok... I know you know her" Hinode conceded pointing down the corridor "she's in the room on the left at the end of the corridor"

Jack nodded his thanks and went to walk in the direction she pointed but was stopped by a slender hand on his arm.

"Please be careful. She's emotional right now" Hinode pleaded, eyes shining with concern over her best friend. A person being concerned for Anna was not something that was new to Jack. The concern showing in Hinode's eye was the same concern mimicked by Owen and Tosh. However, there was something more there... something that made Jack wonder just how much she knew about him and his connection with Anna.

"Don't worry Doctor Sakurai, I'm not here to cause trouble... and if I do you can take it out on me next time we meet. I've got a feeling I'll be seeing a lot more of you."

And with that Jack walked off leaving Hinode feeling a little more than confused... and not a little concerned.

* * *

I sat on the chair overlooking the bed that looked too big for the small fragile girl lying in it.

It wasn't fair. She was only seven and her whole life had been centred around this hospital. All that pain, the loneliness...For what?

...To be told she was dying anyway.

...All that...For nothing.

I felt the single drop of warm salt water trail down my cheek. Crying the tear that she wouldn't... she wasn't like me... she didn't believe that she was going to die. When I was at her stage I was planning my funeral. She was still planning her life. She wanted to be a doctor like her best friend.

... Well, my best friend.

I was pulled by my thoughts by a warm sensation brushing against my cheek. I looked up to see Jack retracting his hand with the single tear glistening on his finger.

"Jack!" I jumped out of my seat. He had been the last person I had expected to see here.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see you smile properly again" he commented softly.

I looked away from him and back to the figure lying prone on the bed.

It was true. I didn't smile as much anymore. Things begin to build up, eat away at the happiness. It wasn't that I was unhappy, far from it... I had a good job, friends both inside and out of Torchwood, stable money and I now knew my feelings for Jack weren't entirely one sided.

Those things made me happy.

...yet I always had a tendency to expect the worst... feel others pain for them... even if they couldn't feel it themselves.

Jack didn't pressure me to say anything nor did he tell me the reason he came to find me. He simply drew up another chair beside mine and sat down. I lowered myself back into my own chair and settled back into contemplation.

"Her name's Bridget... she's my cousin" I said randomly. Explanation that hadn't been asked for but I felt was needed.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Cystic fibrosis" I said "... she's ... got cysts on her organs ... they're growing... expanding. Taking over her body and slowly killing her. She's been like this... well, she was admitted when she was two"

"And she's been here ever since?"

"...in and out at first... but then it became too much for my Aunt and Uncle... Mum and Dad did what they could to help and support them...They thought they could fix everything" I couldn't stop the bitterness entering my voice as I spat out the last few lines "They should've learned from their experience with me. Everyone's done exactly the same thing to her as they did to me"

"Meaning?"

"... They've abandoned her"

"Abandoned?" he asked.

I stayed silent unwilling to further explain when I was so close to her. I remembered listening to adults talking about how unlikely my survival was when then thought I was sleeping. It was one of the scariest things... hearing what they weren't telling me.

Bridget still had hope for her life and I refused to be the one to shatter those dreams.

Instinctively I reached out taking Jack's hand in my own. The familiar comforting grasp offered me a moment of peace. In front of Bridget I had to be strong. I wasn't always forcing a smile, Bridget was too bright a spark to allow anyone in her presence to be sad for long. But Jack knew that right now my strength was a mask. He didn't know why, but he knew it was a mask.

The girl in the bed shifted slightly and moaned in discomfort. Normally when you think of people being asleep their faces are free from trouble, peaceful in their own dream worlds. But the look in Bridget's face spoke of nothing but pain. Her limp, dark brown hair framed a pale sallow face. She was thin and bony... It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this wasn't a common cold.

"Sorry Anna but you have to go now"

I looked up at Hinode's voice. She was standing in the doorway holding a clipboard watching us carefully. Her eyes alighted on our joined hand and her eyes softened slightly... Jack had just won brownie points.

"We're going to bring her around and give her a bath and something to eat" she explained, walking fully into the room.

I nodded and stood up, Jack rising with me.

"Alright, tell her I'm sorry I wasn't there when she woke up" I said and Hinode nodded, her eyes switching again. She wasn't Doctor Sakurai anymore, she was Hinode, my best friend.

"You going to be ok?" she asked concerned.

"I'll have to be" I replied tonelessly, slipping on my black trench coat.

"Anna..." she started stopping me from turning to go out the door "... don't think it didn't help. The money you gave to give her the room and the treatments made the last year easier on her than it would've been"

I nodded stiffly, trying to calming my choking heart.

"You know she'll want to see you again" Hinode warned "she knows something not right... you're the only one who can calm her with that story of yours. The one about the-"

"- I know" I cut her off quickly "... I'll come by as soon as I can... if I can't come in, I'll phone her and talk to her... I promise" I said, feeling the weight of the chain around my neck. I fingered it thoughtfully my touch running over the pendant dangling from it.

Hinode nodded again and squeezed my arm in comfort.

"I'm sorry it didn't work imooto-chan" she said genuinely sympathetic. Bridget had come to mean as much to her as she had too me. Hinode was the only doctor allowed near her.

I reached out and hugged my best friend sharing the comfort that we were both loosing someone important to us.

"Call me if there's any change" I insisted before leaning down to the bed and kissing my little cousins forehead... she felt cold.

I straightened up and nodded to Jack who led the way out the room and with a finale goodbye to Hinode I followed him silently as he lead me way from the room that held the little girl who was losing the battle for her life.

"You ok?" Jack asked as we climbed into the SUV.

"Yeah, just have to deal with it" I said quietly, settling back into the seat.

"What did Hinode mean when she said 'it didn't work'" He asked not in a prying manner but genuinely curious.

"Her last hope. She had a transplant operation... but her bodies rejecting the new organs. They're trying to give her meds to stop it but she practically lives on medication... she's grown immune to them. Now it's just a matter of time... Hinode said she'll be lucky to reach Christmas."

We were silent again for a couple of minutes before he spoke.

"You said your family abandoned the two of you?"

I kept quiet trying to think of a way to word the answer without making my parents seem uncaring and selfish. True, I held a bit of resentment for their actions but I knew why they had done it.

"I was Bridget's age when I was in the hospital. I was in there for so long, getting weaker and weaker everyday. My body couldn't seem to recover from the ammonia and it was slowly failing... Eventually it became too difficult for mum and dad to watch. They stopped visiting. I would occasionally see them if they were in filling out a form or something but they never stayed long..."

"And they've done the same with Bridget?" he asked.

"Yeah... don't get me wrong it's not exactly the easiest thing to watch. Given the option I might've stopped coming to see her. But my aunt and uncle don't visit and neither do my parents, which doesn't even matter now because everyone is still in Scotland... funnily enough arranging another funeral" I went a silent wondering if I should take the two deaths as some form of sign.

"So why don't you stop visiting? If it's that hard to watch" Jack asked.

"... Because being alone is the thing that kills you the most. I remember wondering if there was any point in fighting because I was convinced mum and dad didn't want me. Bridget at least has me and Hinode. We do our best to keep her going...keep her fighting" I sighed and shook the current situation out of my head. I tried not to let it interfere with me when I wasn't at the hospital. "Ok Jack, now tell me the truth. Why were you at the hospital? It probably wasn't a casual visit" I asked. I wasn't stupid; Jack had been looking for me for a reason.

Jack heaved a sigh, almost like I had asked the inevitable question that he hadn't really wanted me to ask.

"...Let go get something to eat" he suggested.

Softening me up with food first?

Ok, now I knew I wasn't going to like the news he had.

* * *

15 minutes later we were sat in a little cafe across from the water tower. My right leg was twitching nervously as we waited for Owen to arrive. It seemed like the more tensed the muscles to try and make it stop the more it shook.

I jumped as I felt Jacks hand close over my knee, instantly ceasing the movement.

"Any more of that and the table's going to overturn" He said, ever so slightly amused "Stop worrying"

"Stop worrying?!" I hissed "How can I do that you've told me nothing except it's to do with my best friend. How the hell do you propose I stop worrying?"

"Owen says he doesn't think it's dangerous" Jack assured me.

"But it could be?" I asked. Really it was a rhetorical question. If it didn't at least have the potential of being dangerous Jack would never have come to find me. "Jack what if she finds out about Torchwood? What if we need to bring her in? What if I have to retcon her and she forgets me too? What if-?"

Jack's fingers over my lips quickly silenced my one breath rant. I looked at him like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"Trust me" he smiled. Although I was still worried that smile did melt some of the worry away. Jack knew how to put people at ease when he had too and it was a technique he frequently employed with me.

As he withdrew his hand the tips of his fingers brushed along my lips to the soft skin of my cheek. His lips curled from the soft comforting smile to a slow, sly, seductive smirk. The shade of his eyes changed to a slightly darker, captivating hue.

I felt the blush faintly stain my cheek and I ducked my head to avoid looking into his eyes.

Jack however was having none of it. He gently cupped my chin and tilted my head up to look back at him. I felt my heart thump hard in my chest and goose bumps rise over my arms. His lips were hovering so close to mine, his warm breath skimmed over my face like an invisible caress. The desire to touch those lips again started to clutch at my senses, gently trying to force my mind from our very public situation.

"Watch it" I warned, my lips brushing his as they formed the words my brain couldn't quite believe I was saying "Owen could get here any minute"

Jack nodded slightly in agreement and pulled back slightly, but just as I allowed myself to breathe again he swooped in and granted the kiss my lips had been begging for.

Jack kisses were ultimately going to be a bad thing for me. They were addictive. His skilled lips alone were enough to make my insides quiver. When he added the practised to perfection use of his tongue, well then that was just me gone. Someone could knock me over with a feather.

I moaned and readily returned his kiss, my hand rested on his forearm seeking any form of contact with him, tugging gently to bring him closer to me. I felt his fingers thread through my hair allowing the soft strands to glide through his fingers.

Then all too soon it was over. He pulled away gently smirking when I unconsciously tried to follow him.

"You're not fair" I muttered.

"All good things to those who wait" he replied eyes sparking with mirth and dark promise. The smirk was still firmly decorated on his lips letting me know he knew I really didn't want him to stop. His hand gave a light squeeze on my knee before withdrawing and once again wrapping around his mug of coffee.

I went back to sipping my tea, quelling the desire growing inside me and waited patiently for the good Dr Harper to arrive.

The silence was comfortable. It had become apparent early on in our partnership that Jack and I had the same interest of people watching, just for different reasons. Jack saw hope, I saw corruption.

Eventually we saw Owen make his way over to the cafe.

The next 20 minutes went by in a blur and my previous contentment was shattered as I was aware of what Owen was explaining to me. I slowly felt my brain go into shock and denial.

When would it bloody end?!

I was staring so hard into my mug that I could see myself in the dark brown liquid. I could hear Owens voice around me and feel Jack's hand on the small of my back in comfort...

... I looked up when it went quiet.

They were looking at me expectantly, respecting the fact she was my best friend and it was my choice how to handle the situation.

"It's not immediately fatal?" I asked.

"As far as I'm aware no... but we've never come across it before. We do have something that will help but it means-"

"-bringing her in" I finished Owens' sentence for him.

They both nodded gravely.

I went quiet trying to weigh the pro and cons of bringing Hinode into Torchwood. Letting her know what I do... and would I have it within myself to retcon her.

... on the other hand if I could try and convince Jack to let her remember... she could help... no more unnecessary deaths because people were to proud to call us. Hinode could contact us as soon as anything suspicious turned up.

... but would Jack allow that.

Was it worth the risk to ask him?

"...Alright" I said eventually "I'll bring her in... but everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, every decision goes through me, ok?"

I looked at Jack, pleading with my eyes.

"Please Jack, I need to take charge with this one. She would do the same for me"

Jack scrutinised my face for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Just then Jack phone went, he excused himself and went to answer it, leaving me and Owen alone.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Hospital. Bridget got her test results back" I explained.

"Christ Anna, I completely forgot" Owen said "How was it?"

"It failed... she's got three weeks... Possibly less" I admitted.

I hadn't been stupid, of course I had asked Owen if there was anything we could do. Since that time Owen had been informed about everything going on with Bridget. When I told him about Hinode working with her, he had seemed to develop a respect for my best friend because of her dedication to her patient.

"God Anna... I'm sorry"

"... yeah ... me too"

Sensing my need for it Owen reached out and drew me into a hug. We stayed like that for a few minute and I happily drew strength from his embrace.

We were interrupted by Jack clearing his throat

"I'm sorry Anna; Hinode is going to have to wait. We need to go" He said apologetically but firmly.

"What is it? What's happened?" I asked in worry. What could have happened to make Jack cancel the task on Hinode?

"Something's come through the rift. A plane that disappeared in 1953" he explained as we all donned our jackets.

"The rift? It took them?" I asked as I followed him out with Owen hot on our heels.

"Now it seems to have dropped them back here. There's a landing strip about a mile away that's where they're heading" he said as we jumped in the SUV.

"Undamaged?"

"We'll see" was the only response I got.

* * *

It wasn't long before we were standing on the landing strip watching the plane come into land. The writing on the side of the aircraft told us it's name was Sky Gypsy, which coincided with the information on the missing aircraft from 1953. The plane landed beautifully curling in a graceful arc till it came to a halt directly in front of us. From out of the window of the cockpit a slim gloved hand waved to us as we approached.

"Hello there apologies for the unplanned touchdown, just hit some rotten turbulence" the female pilot said jumping down from the aircraft and reaching to shake Jack's outstretched hand.

"Captain Jack Harkness"

"Diane Holmes, pilot" she introduced herself before looking around "Is this some sort of secret base? You must show me round one day, Captain"

I resisted smiling as Jack said nothing. Maybe it wasn't a laughing matter but seeing their reaction to twenty-first century architecture could be amusing. Either way before either of us could say anything a man's voice cut across the wind howling around us.

"Everything all right?"

The two other occupants of the plane had approached us. One was a man who looked like he wasn't happy about the "unplanned touchdown" and the other was a young girl who looked a lot more timid about her current situation.

"How long before we head off again?" she asked preventing anyone from answering the man next to her "My Uncle's expecting me" she explained quickly

"When did you leave?" Jack asked blatantly not answering any of their questions

"About half an hour ago" Diane answered

"Which date?" Jack continued, this time making her pause before answering the strange question.

"Today, December the 18th"

"Which year?"

Diane actually turned to look at the man next to her this time clearly beginning to question our sanity.

"Which year? Which year? I need to know" Jack persisted and eventually she relented.

"1953"

Jack and I shared a look that spoke volumes. Yes it was them... problem was... what the hell do we do with them?

* * *

"There's no need to be frightened" Jack reassured them as he brought up the rear of our group entering the hub. The welcome alarms blared making them less than reassured by his words.

"Who are you exactly?" the man asked still not satisfied with the lack of answers he was getting from us.

"The least you know about us, the better" Jack said cutting his way to join me at the front of the group "Meet the team" he said gesturing to the rest of them standing on the stairs leading to the workstation areas.

We all rattled off our names although I was sure they really wouldn't properly take it in. They were too busy trying to take in their surroundings. However they replied in kind:-

"John Ellis"

"Emma Louise Cowell"

"Diane Holmes"

"Please, follow me" Owen invited them having donned his doctors coat and lead them further towards the autopsy room to carry out basic health checks. I stood back as they filed past obediently.

"At least it wasn't a spaceship full of aliens"

I turned to look at Gwen standing beside me as she said the comment which Jack swiftly answered.

"That might have been easier" he said as he started up the stairs.

"What does he mean?" Gwen asked turning to me.

"Aliens are fairly simple, either we attack or diplomatically deal with them to keep our planet safe. With this lot... they're three humans that have been dragged out of their time and flung over fifty years into the future. We need to explain the new way of life, that they can't get back, help them adapt to this world with as little pain as possible. To them, they had families not 2 hours ago, now who know how many of their relatives have died" I explained quietly as we followed Jack up the stairs.

Emma, Diane and John were getting basic medical tests done by Owen to make sure their trip through the rift hadn't affected them. They were still scared and uneasy... well you couldn't blame them. Torchwood is intimidating to people from our time, god knows what it was doing to their perception of the world.

"Tosh, Gwen I want you two to look up on their history from the time they disappeared to now. We need to give them as much evidence as possible to make them believe us. Anna my office, I want to discuss Hinode" Jack said turning to us.

I nodded and headed into the office to wait as Jack issued more orders to keep the team focused on the three new comers. Settling onto the seat across his desk I allowed myself a few moments to reflect.

It was beginning to feel like the walls were closing in. Bridget was dying, Hinode was infected with alien venom, my parents were in Scotland and showing no signs of coming back and still not telling me what the problem was.

Torchwood was meant to be the disruptive force in my life. The one I had to struggle against to keep a normal life. So when had my rules changed? Torchwood was normal, safe... somewhere where the abnormality and unpredictability became the safety net.

It was my outside life that was the trouble and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse. I had informed my family of Bridget's condition. They seemed reluctant to leave... what was more important than her? Surely my Grandmothers will could wait. However, when I pointed this fact out to them... Well let's just say after that conversation I was sure they were hiding something from me. Sheer will power alone stopped me from hacking to the system and finding the will myself.

"You seem distracted"

I looked up to find Jack already seated in front of me.

"How long have you been sitting there?" I asked surprised.

"Wow you really must be distracted" he chuckled teasingly "I mean if you didn't even notice me in the room"

"Shut it" I muttered, trying to not smile. He did have a point and he knew it.

"Wanna tell me about it?" he asked.

"Buy me a drink first" I quipped.

"Deal. Now about your friend. What do you want to do?" he leaned back into the soft leather of his chair.

"Honestly?" I asked, getting a small nod as a reply. "I want to bring her in, help her... and then... let her help us by utilising her position in the hospital to feed us information"

"You mean you want to introduce her to everything?" He asked.

"Well not everything... just ... enough to let her help us. You know... no more waiting for them to explore every other possibility. Hinode would let us know as soon as something strange turned up. She could help"

"And it would negate the need to retcon her afterwards" he said, immediately seeing through to the other agenda in this proposal.

I stayed quiet, not breaking eye contact.

"Look Anna if Hinode can't handle it-"

"-Then by all means do what we have to but... she's my best friend. I can't ... I would rather give her the chance. Please Jack... Give me the chance for someone outside Torchwood to talk to"

"Anna you knew the score when you joined" he said gently but firmly.

"Yeah I know... but her work is so close to mine. So many times I've heard her talking about some of her patients that have injuries she can't explain... but I know we can. Imagine how many people we could save if we had an inside source... even if it is just one hospital..."

Jack watched me for a few seconds but I refused to break his gaze.

"Alright" he said, coming to a decision "We'll bring her in and see how she handles it. Then we'll decide if she gets to remember"

I nodded. It was a test. I had expected it. After all we all had to go through it before we became part of Torchwood.

"Alright deal. When do I bring her in?"

"Immediately" he replied getting up.

"Really? Even with that lot?" I asked gesturing out to Diane, Emma and John.

"Their presence will keep the rest of us busy enough to allow you to concentrate on Hinode" He said, pulling me out of my chair to stand in front of him. "She's your case now. You decide how you deal with her"

I knew what he was doing. This was his way of allowing me to make the decision on how to introduce Hinode into this world. Giving me the responsibility and respecting the trust formed between best friends.

"Thank you Jack" I said smiling in appreciation. This trust allowed me to feel that I had gained some control back.

"And when you put her under in the machine and we get that lot settled you and I can go for that drink" he said.

His hands were clasped gently around my arms and I could feel his body heat warming my skin. I was very aware that his office door was still open with a clear view inside the room yet Jack was maybe just that little bit too close. He didn't seem to care but we had come to this mutual agreement that we didn't want the team to know about whatever was going on between us.

"You're playing this pretty dangerously" I said darkly.

Jack smirked knowingly at the change of subject.

"Excites you doesn't it? Maybe getting caught?" I asked curiously.

"Perhaps... but what are we doing that worth getting caught" he answered, his hands slowly trailing down my arms. I gulped slightly, darting a glance at the door.

Tosh was engrossed at her computer, Gwen didn't have a clear view to Jack's office from her computer and the rest we all down in the autopsy room... Jacks proximity was making it very difficult to think.

I placed my hand firmly on his chest and pushed him back. He stumbled back but the grin just widened as I glared.

"You are far too confidant for your own good" I commented, although it was clear I was biting back a grin of my own.

"Am I?" he said before giving a little mock bow "I beg your forgiveness"

I rolled my eyes, fighting back a smirk and walked past him out the office.

"We'll see. I'll be back soon"

* * *

I had tried to come up with many different ways on how to approach the subject... but none seemed appropriate. I'd just have to bite the bullet and go with what felt right.

I walked into the building and up to the reception desk. The girl behind the desk looked up at me.

"I'm looking for Doctor Sakurai. Can you call her down please?" I asked in a delicately professional voice.

"Um... Doctor Sakurai may still be on her rounds" The receptionist, whose name tag informed her name was Rachael, hesitated. I tilted my head expectantly "Well ... who should I say is looking for her?"

I had a mental battle... who was looking for her?

Torchwood... or Anna

...was there a difference?

"...Torchwood"

The girls eyes lit in recognition at the name. Fear and respect suddenly infusing her features.

"Oh of course... em one moment"

Rachael disappeared through a door behind the desk, hopefully going to get Hinode here. I turned away from the desk but still stood close by. As I was waiting I tried to calm down enough to confront her. She knew Torchwood was waiting for her but how would she react when she saw who Torchwood was?

My ears pricked as I heard her footsteps; that hurried pace, wanting to please and help where she could.

"Hey Rachael, what is it?" Hinode said in a slightly panicked confusion "Someone said that Torchwood was waiting. What do they want with me?"

"Don't know" Rachael answered "Ask her"

I tried to stop myself reacting in fear as I knew Rachael was now pointing at me.

There was a pregnant pause.

"... Anna?"

I turned around to face my best friend. She stood there practically shell shocked as she took in the smart clothes, confidant stance and business like expression.

"Anna?" she repeated "You're Torchwood?!"

I nodded once and again a strong silence descended over us. I kept quiet allowing everything to sink in for her. I watched as a display of emotions combined and danced across her expression. Confusion, fear, disappointment, awe, worry, suspicion, anger... all of them crossed her feature as she tried to process my conformation.

Eventually I saw the tirade of confusion give way to curiosity. She took a deep inhale of breath to calm and steady herself.

"You have a lot of explaining to do"

* * *

"You're kidding... you... you have got to be kidding me" she spat out half laughing, half stunned.

"I know it's difficult to believe Hinode, but I swear it's all true" I insisted pushing her mug of green tea closer towards her.

After a brief pull of rank on Hinode's boss we had escaped the hospital after she had changed out of her scrubs. Now we sat in the cafe across from the water tower as I gave her the briefest facts on Torchwood. She nursed the green tea in her hands and took deep breaths... probably trying not to freak out.

"So... for the past year you've been running around with a government group that no one really knows about-"

"- no no" I cut off quickly "We're not the government. We're separate... we work... special cases"

"What kind of special?" she asked.

I didn't think it was really the right time to tell her about the aliens. Maybe Jack's tactic was best... just take them in and let them see it rather than trying to verbally convince them.

"um... I'll get to that in a second" I hadn't banked on how difficult it would be to try and keep the professional face on when I was trying to talk to her about this. "Right now I need to know..." I paused trying to find the way to word it "... what you know about Torchwood... what you've heard... how you feel about it"

She was silent for a while contemplating her answer

"Well..." she started hesitantly "my workmates don't like the name Torchwood, saying the Torchwood throw their weight around and... that they... kill people. I don't know if any of that is true or not so I don't really have an opinion about them. They have a job, like the rest of us I guess"

"Well that's something at least" I sighed deciding to take that as good news "... so you're not scared of us at all?"

"Us?" she asked both eyebrows raising in suspicion and curiosity "There's more of you?"

There was a change in the pitch of her voice raising nearly an octave higher. Meaning that whatever idea she had in her head had now been disproven.

"Yeah there are six of us. The team" I said quietly.

"Ok so ... What exactly do you do?"

"We're sort of like... em ... hunters... scavengers" I said trying to find a roundabout way of explaining it in a way she would accept.

"Hunters?" she asked disbelievingly as she eyebrows drew slightly together in the middle.

... Ok maybe hunter had been the wrong word.

I bit my lower lip nervously, why was this so hard?

"Ok... there's a reason I'm telling you this... it's going to be difficult to hear so... I'll give you two options. I show you then explain everything or I tell you then I show you... It's about that bite and the thing that attacked you"

The panic drained the colour out of Hinode's face and glazed her eyes with a light sheen of fear.

"Is it... is the bite worse than I thought?... I only got a small fever nothing serious" then she straightened up. "Wait what do you mean "thing"?"

I took a deep breath. Ok this was it.

"My job... we... I mean it's our job to hunt down and scavenge alien life forms and technology" I said trying to mimic the confidence and pride that reflects in Jack when he gives this explanation, but failing miserably.

Hinode stared blankly at me before bursting into laughter.

I sighed and made up my mind.

"Come on" I said getting up and pulling on my jacket "Clearly I need to give you the physical evidence"

"Anna I'm not saying I don't believe you but..." She trailed off still laughing slightly. I didn't think she thought I was lying. She was just scared and nervous.

"I know. But this is probably the best way to do this. You've been given the basics now you need to see it. I'm doing this for your own good"

"Why?" She wasn't laughing anymore "Am I in trouble?"

"Just come on. I'll explain everything when we get there"

I exited the cafe heading out across the plass towards the water tower with Hinode running to catch me up.

"Anna, you're really starting to scare me now. You show up at my work, claim to be a part of Torchwood-"

"I am a part of Torchwood Hinode" I cut in

"Either way, you're telling me that aliens exist and I'm in danger. Come on Anna I deserve answers" she pleaded.

"I'm trying to give them to you but I need to let you see for yourself before I try and explain anymore"

"How far away are we?" she asked, I detected a note of fear in her voice.

"Actually we're walking over it now"

I heard the gasp and could almost see her stop and look at the ground like she was expecting it to cave in. I kept walking heading towards the tourist centre. I wasn't about to terrify her on the lift.

"Um Anna, this is the tourist information centre. Why are you bringing me here"

"I told you. Torchwood is a secret" I said as we walked along the wooden board of the harbour.

"You mean...?" she trailed off.

"Yep. Everyone needs a mask" I confirmed opening the door to the centre and escorting her in. From behind the desk Ianto looked up and gave a welcoming smile.

"Welcome back Anna"

"Hey Ianto. They all still down there?" I asked, closing the door and approaching the desk.

"Yes but Jack and Gwen should be coming up with John, Emma and Diane. I've book them into a hostel" he said

"Good. How did they take everything?"

"John seems having trouble letting go as is Emma but Diane seems to be coping" He informed me.

"Ok. This is Hinode my best friend. Hinode this is Ianto Jones. He makes sure Torchwood is kept running smoothly... and makes the best hot drinks ever"

"Pleased to meet you Mr Jones" Hinode said nervously, bowing at the waist in greeting.

"Call me Ianto. Now what would like to drink miss" Ianto said politely.

"Um... green tea... if that's alright"

"Same for me Ianto"

"Of course, I'll have it to you presently" he said pressing the trigger behind the desk that opened the entrancing into the hub. I heard Hinode squeak in surprise.

"See you Ianto"

Leading a wide eyed Hinode through the door, I guided her along the corridor leading to the elevator. As we walked a loud clanging and grinding noise echoed through the bare walls.

"What's that?" she asked startled and gripping my arm.

"Calm down. It's just the lift. It'll be Jack and Gwen. The people they're with arrived this morning. Fell through a gap in time. They're from 1953"

"1953?!" she gasped.

"Just be delicate" I warned as the door slid open to reveal Jack and Gwen escorting John, Emma and Diane out into the corridor.

I brought us to a stop allowing them to approach us. I knew this could end up being a difficult situation. We couldn't be sure how any of our guests would react. We didn't want any of them to act out if something made them feel frightened or upset. I didn't think any of them would lash out but fear makes people do stupid things.

"You were quicker than I expected" Jack commented drawing level with us.

"Couldn't really explain it well, figured your method was easier" I explained and he nodded before looking at Hinode.

"A pleasure to see you again Doctor Sakurai" he said with a small smirk. He was teasing her? Had they spoken before?

"So that's what you meant" Hinode said shocked, apparently he had said something to her "You knew I would be brought in" she was still very shy and quiet but there was a certain edge to her tone.

"The final call was Anna's" He said simply.

She nodded but I could pick up the deep breath huffed out her nose indicating she was annoyed. Hinode wasn't big fan of not knowing everything. Must have been the scientist in her.

"Um, not to interrupt" Gwen started drawing all attention "but shouldn't we be going Jack"

"Yeah" Jack agreed, briefly glancing at her before returning his attention to me "We'll be back soon"

"Sure, we'll hold down the fort here" I nodded, knowing he was telling me not to leave so we could go for that drink he promised.

After a brief goodbye to Gwen and the others I led the now thoroughly confused Hinode into the lift.

"God I wish my boss respected me like that" Hinode breathed as the doors shut blocking the view of the corridor "I mean you're only nineteen and he treats you like an equal"

"I guess" I murmured "but he needs to trust me at least a little, I am his second in command"

"What?!" Hinode chocked on air "How did you manage that?"

"I wish I knew. It was only three months ago. Gwen started around the same time we lost our old second in command" I said quietly.

"Lost?" She asked suspicion heavy in her voice.

"It's a long story" I brushed off as the cog door rolled open revealing the vast inside of the hub.

She didn't pushed the subject, too awe struck by the sight before her. I smiled fondly at her reaction to my second home. The wonder in her eyes as her mouth opened in surprise was slightly amusing.

"Anna..." she breathed "... this..."

"Is Torchwood" I finished proudly.

"How... how..." she gaped at me speechless "How the hell did you end up working here?"

"I was in the right place at the right time" I said laughing slightly "Come on and meet the rest of the team"

I led her up the steps to Tosh's work station where Tosh was staring so intently at her screen she barely noticed us. I peered over her shoulder curiously. She was filing through old specific files that dealt with one subject in particular.

"So what's your bet that most of these feel through a gap in time" I spoke making her jump.

"Christ Anna don't do that!" she scolded.

"Sorry Tosh" I smiled "just wondered what had your attention so captivated"

"Well I just... " she looked hesitantly at the screen "They're really scared Anna. Confused. How many others are out there like them but they don't have people like us to help them adapt?"

"Humans survive Tosh it's what were good at but we can only save the ones we find so no point in worrying about it till we have to ok?" I said rubbing her shoulder in comfort.

"I know" she sighed

"There's someone I want you to meet" I started drawing her attention away from the computers. "This is my best friend Hinode. Hinode this is Toshiko Sato resident computer genius"

I smiled as they both handled their own way introduction, asking about each other's pasts in Japan. I quietly slipped away down to Owens territory.

"Hey Owen" I said announcing myself, making him look up from his paperwork.

"Hey, she here?" he asked.

"Yeah, her and Tosh are bonding over their Japanese roots. I just wanted to see if you've got the machine set up"

"It's down in the old med ward. I've modified it so she can lie on one of the beds rather than sit on the chair. It'll be a long process" he said ascending the stairs towards me.

"How long are we talking?" I asked.

"Three maybe four hours" he replied leading me up to the main platform again. Tosh and Hinode looked over at our presence.

"Hinode this is Doctor Owen Harper, our medical marvel"

"Pleased to meet you" Owen said extending his hand, for once not cocky or sarcastic. He knew the work Hinode had done for Bridget.

"Thanks" Hinode returned nervously "So... when do we get started?"

"Now, I can work the machine" I voiced before turning to Owen and Tosh "You guys can head off now. We'll call if we need help"

"You sure, Anna? Because I've got a lot-" Tosh started

"Go! That's an order" I smiled handing her coat to her and pushing her towards the door. "You work too hard. Switch the brain off for once"

"But what if Jack-" she protested

"Leave Jack to me" I insisted "you need rest Tosh"

"Well... if you're sure" she relented

"Yes I'm sure. It looks like it'll be quiet tonight any so no need to worry"

"Ok night Anna. Bye Hinode, it was nice meeting you" she waved goodbye heading for the door, pausing for Owen to catch up

"Should have known you wouldn't take any convincing" I smiled as he shrugged on his coat.

"Hey, take the breaks when you can" he shrugged "See you tomorrow, kid"

"Hey, I'm still in charge!" I whined playfully, pushing his shoulder.

"Whatever gets you through the night princess" he smirked, running down to join Tosh at the doors.

I waved to them one last time before the cog door slid back into place hiding them from view.

"Wow..." I heard Hinode breath and I turned to her.

I had expected her attention to have been caught by one of the many wonders surrounding her. I expected her to been transfixed on a shiny piece of equipment or looking through one of the files detailing things she could never have imagined. What I did not expect was for her to be staring at me in wonder and confusion.

"What?" I asked, though I had a vague idea of what she was about to say.

"You're all so close" she said quietly "like a family"

"We have to be" I said simply but gently "we only have each other, we have to watch each other's backs and take care of each other. This job has been known to drive people mad. We keep each other grounded. Tosh and Owen are like family to me just as much as you are. My own family appear to have completely turned on me. Friends are the family you choose"

"It must be nice. Too be so close with them" she commented.

"Hey it's not all fun and games. Believe me" I assured her, but went no further into it. I was aware that the more I told her, there was a higher chance of her tripping the retcon if Jack deemed she needed it.

A part of me wanted to give her that advantage... but I had to do my job.

Hinode would understand if she knew. I was sure of that... mostly.

"Your tea, miss"

I chuckled slightly as Hinode jumped at Ianto's sudden presence at her side, bearing a tray loaded with two mugs.

"Don't worry. You get used to it" I smiled taking the mug from him and handing Hinode her own beverage.

After giving Ianto the same assurances that I would be fine by myself he donned his still perfect jacket and followed Tosh and Owens route out of the hub.

The cog door slammed closed behind him and silence reigned within the hub. The only other sounds were the dripping water and the occasional soft beeping of a machine. The sudden lack of people made it seem just ever so slightly colder.

"What now?" Hinode asked.

Anyone who had just met her would not have detected the slight hint of fear and anxiety in her voice. But the slightly more exaggerated rise and fall of her chest, her wide eyes and her middle and forth finger digging into her palm indicated otherwise.

"Drink your tea and then we'll go down to the old med ward. Owen has modified it so you'll be more comfortable"

She nodded quietly and I sensed that I was going to get very little conversation out of her. She was calming herself down in order to not freak out incase of any more surprises.

I watched her carefully. I didn't want to miss any indication that she wasn't handling herself very well. If I could ease some of her worry before Jack appeared she might make a better impression. Hinode was professional when she needed to be but sometimes her mouth ran away with her, especially if it involved her being nervous... which she most defiantly was now.

Then as I watched I noticed something. Her eyelids were dropping. Her breathing slowed down and she relaxed back into the couch.

'Ianto you little miracle' I thought gratefully.

He had used Owens trick when it came to dealing with me and dosed her tea with sleeping pills. A part of me suspected it had been Owens orders in the first place. He modified the machine to let her lie down, remembering my description of the similarities between me and my best friend when it came to needles.

I smiled and crossed over to her, silently helping her get to her feet. She was still lucid enough to move but words came out in unintelligible strings. By the time I manoeuvred her into the med ward I was carrying most of her weight. She flopped down on the bed narrowly missing toppling off the edge, my directing her weight being her saving grace.

She moaned, disgruntled before the effects of the pill took over her senses and she dissolved fully into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

I looked at the machine next to the bed.

The cold metal dimmed with age shunned any light attempting to penetrate it. Clear tubes and green and blue wires crawled their way around the contraption waiting to close in on its latest subject. There were evil looking needles jutting out of the wires and the bright lights of its interior illuminated Hinode's sleeping face.

For something supposedly used for good, it looked downright evil.

Perhaps Hinode not seeing it first had been the best call.

Making a mental note to buy Owen and Ianto a thank you gift, I hooked Hinode up to the machine, set it to the right settings and quietly left, shutting the door behind me. It was warm enough in that room so she would be comfortable.

I headed straight for the couch. A twenty minute cat nap would do me the world of good.

* * *

The sense of warm intoxicating lips covering mine roused me back into consciousness. I leaned up slightly, sighing in contented pleasure, wrapping my arms around broad shoulders and playing softly with the hairs at the back of his neck. His arms supported my back as I raised myself off the soft surface of the couch to push the kiss into deeper, more lustful territory. Our tongues duelled fiercely, alternating between attacking and playfully edging away.

Very slowly we both started to pull back into the original familiar, soft territory until he pulled away from me completely causing me to moan in disappointment and finally force my eyes open.

Jack's twinkling gaze and smug smirk greeted me; I glared at him before descending into giggles and pulling myself up into a proper sitting position. Jack laughed and settled down next to me. Now I was more aware of my surroundings and less distracted by the captain another smell infused my senses. A very welcome smell indeed.

"Pizza?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We both know you don't want to leave her to go to a bar. You've had a long day and people are not going to make you feel any better. So pizza and drinks with better company seemed just what the captain ordered" he smirked.

"What makes you think you're better company?" I challenged

"Not me" he smiled "her" he pointed up, drawing my gaze to Myfanway who was gleefully circling overhead, searching for the food hidden for her within the rafters.

"Oh yeah, she is better" I laughed at Jack's put out expression, however fake, it made me smile.

I leaned over and slowly kissed him. Savouring the taste of coffee on his lips and mindfully memorising the feel of skin, day old stubble creating a delightfully rough feeling on my palm.

"Then again, you did bring me pizza" I smiled, pulling away "I guess that gets you brownie points"

"How about pizza and drinks?" he smirked leaning down and pulling up bottles of beer.

"Ok. Now I think you're in the lead" I chuckled accepting one from him.

I didn't drink much and as far as I could tell neither did Jack. Socially mostly, or when we had been through a particularly gruelling day. So for us to start with alcohol meant he was prepared for a long conversation. It felt nice. I hadn't had a proper non-work conversation with Jack since before the incident with the cannibals. Jack had almost always seemed an odd person for me to have these talks with but he had the amazing capability of putting me completely at ease. He always had done. He didn't judge... only listened. It was a rare quality that I deeply valued in him as a friend not just as a boss. I was completely sure of what we were now but I felt a swell of comfort knowing he wouldn't abandon talking about me as a person just because of our unsettled situation. I knew the day for that conversation was coming, but right now he was concerned about everything other than him that was affecting me.

"Is she alright?" he asked, inclining his head to the monitor that had video feed from the camera focused on my sleeping best friend.

"She will be. Ianto drugged her tea so she didn't see what she was being connected up to, on Owens orders I suspect" I murmured watching the screen before another thought slammed into my brain waking me fully.

The cameras!

My eye widened in panic and I jerked up but was stopped by Jacks hand on my shoulder

"Relax" Jack chuckled "they're on a loop"

I sighed and settled back down, reaching for a slice of pizza before nestling into the comforting warmth of the couch.

"Now come on, go through the list" he commanded gently, not beating around the bush any more "talk to me"

"What makes you think there's a list?" I asked noting my own sudden subdued demeanour. No point in pretending anymore.

"This" he reached over running a calloused thumb down the ridge between my eyebrows. I blushed.

I had never known he'd taken so much notice. I had a crease right in that exact spot, whenever it deepened it usually might one of two things a) a headache or b) I was stressed. The longer the crease stayed the more stressed I was getting.

"Which one do you want to hear first?" I asked

"Let's go from lowest to highest" he said, taking his own slice of pizza and settling back.

"You're not going to like it" I warned.

"It about your outside life?" he asked.

"I've quit the concert. I pulled out" I admitted.

"Why? I thought it was your last chance to perform? Since you're not going to study anymore" he asked his own frown lines marring his handsome face.

"They were asking things of me I didn't agree with"

"Like?" he prompted

"Remember Josie and how I told you about Hannah?" I asked. He nodded silently.

Josie had been killed in the raid of our school, when I had first come across Torchwood. I had found her body. The whole school had been given retcon apart from me because I ran away. Still people knew Josie and I had been close.

Hannah had been a friend about a year before that incident. She had been killed. I had heard it myself. Abusive dad who got a bit carried away. She had phoned me that night begging me to help. I didn't know what to do. The police hadn't helped. I grabbed some knives from the kitchen and ran to her house. I wasn't sure what my plan had been but it didn't matter. By the time I got there it was too late. Gwen didn't know this but it was the cause of my distrust of the police.

"They blame me. Now people know about Bridget and my Gran. It's like they think I'm bad luck. Four deaths in three years to people that are close to me. They started pushing me to make the concert a memorial. I agreed but on the condition that it wasn't a complete sob feast. They didn't listen. Every song was a guilt trip. Reminding me of what I know. They didn't know that of course but... I did. Eventually I snapped. Threw down the microphone and walked out"

"They aren't happy with you then?" he asked.

"They never were. I am useful to them Jack. Apart from a few exceptions, they don't count me as a friend. I have a car when they need a lift, I have money if they need help and I have artistic ability that helps sort out difficult situations when devising a show. I'm a leader when they need me to be... it's a recipe to make me an easy enemy...someone to blame when everything goes wrong."

"What about that boy Keith?" he asked

"He does what he can. But I don't want him to make enemies' on my account. Not when I could disappear any day. Keith, Laura, Toby, Kara and Harry tend to stay by me. They're friends but not the friend I need anymore"

"What do you need?" he prompted. He knew the answer, he just wanted to see if I would admit it.

"Torchwood. I need this place. I need Gwen and Ianto. I especially need Tosh and Owen. I need Hinode... and I need you" I looked up at him at this. This was the closest I had ever come to verbally admitting my feelings to him personally. "Jack... After Bridget dies that's all I'll have left. 6 people that mean more to me than anything else"

"What about your parents?" he pointed out. He wasn't ignoring my confession he would get back around to it once everything else was sorted.

"I'm not in their favour anymore" I said quietly not taking my eyes off him. He blinked in genuine surprise.

"What happened?"

"My grandmother. I found out why the will is upsetting them all so much"

"What is it?"

"I'm her sole benefactor"

"That's a good thing isn't it?" he asked confused.

"My parents think I've been lying. So do the rest of the family. I'm not supposed to have seen her since I was nine years old. She left me all her money and her house in Scotland... and a flat" I admitted.

"Why a house and a flat?" he asked

"That's why they think I'm lying. The flat is in Cardiff. Just across the road actually. It looks down on the water tower" Jack was silent considering all the implications of what I just said.

"Do you think she was watching you?" he asked "Did you have contact with her"

"No! I swear I didn't. She was found in Scotland. But her death was expected... it wouldn't be hard for her to have travelled up and down with no one noticing"

"Surely someone would have noticed she was missing" Jack exclaimed

"Nope. I wasn't the only one who shouldn't have seen her for ten years"

"You family disowned her? Why?" he asked shocked.

"I didn't know until a few days ago. Mum called me and spilled everything, demanding me to tell her if I had seen or heard from Gran in the last ten years. I insisted I hadn't and asked her why it was such a big deal even if I had"

I paused for a break taking another slice of pizza. Honestly, I was still in shock at the behaviour of my family. How they had treated my Gran no matter what she did. Jack stayed silent, allowing me breathing space to gather my thoughts. I focused on his presence. Closing my eyes and allowing his warmth to spread through me offering comfort in a silent embrace.

"She married into the family through my grandfather. His family didn't approve of her or her background because she came from a wealthy family. She gave up all that to be with Granddad. I thought it sounded romantic. But apparently it wasn't a match made in heaven. They had been having problems from years, ever since mum can remember. When she was 15 he died of a heart attack. Stress. He worked all the time and never allowed himself a break to work on his health or his marriage. They all mourned him but eventually Gran moved on and married again. The second husband... the granddad I knew died ten years ago. While sorting through his possessions mum came across photo's and letters that proved Gran had been seeing him before Granddad died. After that came out none of them spoke to her again. Forbade me and my cousins from trying to make contact because she was "very ill" and we shouldn't be around her because it would hurt us too much"

"So why you?" Jack asked "What did you do to make her leave everything to you"

"I honestly wish I knew. Maybe Mum has been in contact at some point. Telling her about my new job and how she wasn't happy about it. Maybe she thought the secrets meant the family would isolate me too. It's the only logical explanation I can come up with"

"Why would your mother talk to her and not allow you too?" he asked.

"Maybe to ensure she stayed away" I shrugged "If she gets regular updates then she won't try and contact us directly"

"But now your family thinks she lied and contacted you"

"I keep enough secrets from them, so what's one more"

"So they all gathered in Scotland without you...?" he started

"To try and appeal the will"

"But they can't?" he asked

"Nope. Apparently if I don't get it then all her assets go to charity and "people who deserve more than what life has given them""

"So your Grandmother felt that her connection might be strongest to you cause you're both..." he paused searching for the word

"... Black sheep" I filled in.

"Yeah. You think that's why?"

"I do. Well that... and one more thing" this time I broke eye contact, suddenly finding the material and patterns of the couch very interesting.

"Anna?" he prompting.

"Hmm?" I answered still not looking up.

"What is it?" he insisted, tucking his hand under my chin and coaxing my face up to look at him.

"You'll think it's sappy" I muttered, forcing my eyes back to the floor even though I couldn't move my face.

"Anna" His voice was soft now causing me to be drawn back to his eyes. He leaned in gently and pressed his lips to mine in a tender, undemanding kiss.

Anyone watching would have said that Jack was manipulating me by using my feelings for him. I could feel his coaxing through the kiss, reassuring me that I could trust him. I knew Jack wouldn't use my feelings like that. The kiss just spoke more volumes than words ever could.

I allowed my eyes to slide closed and sighed softly into the kiss. I felt the heat of his hand burning through my shirt to heat the sensitive skin of my waist. His biceps felt strong and solid under my exploring hands and the feel of presence alone was enough to reassure me that if I choose to show him he wouldn't laugh.

When we broke apart I couldn't help but let a small, embarrassed smile creep over my lips and allow a mutter escape my throat.

"You are far, far too used to getting your own way"

"You love it really" he chuckled and kissed me briefly again.

I sighed in over dramatic resignation and stood up, bottle of beer still clutched in my hand and made my way over to my desk. I could see Jack out of the corner of my eye watching me. His lips were curled up in that devastating smirk that never failed to make my heart jump. I found myself wondering what he was looking at.

Was it my blush? The way I subtly had to steady myself when I was walking? Was it my body? Or was he just letting his mind wander?

I turned back around to face him grasping what I had been looking for. I had promised I would tell him. Maybe now was the best time.

He was silent as I approached watching every move in scrutinising detail. I didn't say a word as I handed him the drawing. I had finished it finally. I was finally happy with it.

The black wings finally had the strong, sweeping grace I had been striving for. The bare muscles of the chest had the right definition as the moonlight illuminated them from the shadows. His eyes held a strong desire to fulfil his duty to protect his charge lying in the bed in front of him. The small figure in the bed looked weak and lifeless. Long red hair flowed over the crisp white pillow, falling over the edge of the bed trailing towards the floor. Her body was malnourished and sickly. However, her face held a small, contented smile knowing she was being protected by her angel.

I had expected to be nervous handing it over to him. It was cheesy, girly and overly romantic. But it did have a meaning behind it. For that reason I found myself actually very keen to explain it to him.

"Is this you?" he asked. I knew it would be the first question he asked. It was pretty obvious he was the angel. The likeness wasn't perfect but it was good enough. The girl in the picture however was very young. He'd either think it was me or Bridget.

"Yes. The night I was supposed to die"

"Why an angel?" he looked at me. I noticed something strange glinting in his eye, a foreign emotion that I couldn't put a name to when I connected it with Jack.

"That's the only memory I have of my Gran" I explained placing my bottle back on the table as I sat down next to him once again, curling my feet up under me and leaning against him. "She saw me that night. My parents had told everyone that it was going to happen and they were welcome to come and say goodbye. I admitted to Gran that I was scared. I didn't want to die. I hated everyone coming in looking at me the way they did. I told her I didn't want to be alone. She took my hand..." as I was speaking I interlocked my fingers with his, keeping my eyes fixed on his hand "... and told me that no matter what happened I would never be alone, she would make sure my angel would watch over me... Sounds cheesy I know... but I was seven. That night... I don't remember much ... except... I felt someone else in room. I have... jumbled memories of sounds, touches and smells... even a few words. Nothing definite but ... I felt safe. I woke up the next day and completely baffled everyone"

"So, why this?" He prompted again. His voice had lowered to a near whisper. The warmth of his words skimmed my ear making me shiver.

I tilted my head not surprised that he was so close to me. Our lips were centimetres apart, breaths mingling in the heated air between us. My hands had unconsciously begun exploring him, running up his arms, linking at his neck, threading in his hair. His hands in turn had snuck their way under my top and were teasing the bare skin they found there. I couldn't contain a gasp at the feeling of skin to skin contact.

"I told you..." I whispered a definite tremor in my voice "... I felt safe"

Nothing else was said. Nothing else needed to be said. His lips locked onto mine swallowing the gasp of desire coursing through me. Very quickly, all thoughts of everything else fled in the face of the rising passion igniting sparks over my skin. I kissed back with enthusiasm, delighting in the battle of our tongues. I allowed my ears to drink in the wonderful sounds I never thought I could tease from him as the mingled with my own. A tiny trail of fire echoed the route his hands were taking over my skin. He slid his hands down over my hips trailing down my thigh and curling around my knee. I whimpered as his fingers brushed against a sensitive spot at the back of my knee and clung to him as he hitched my knee around his hip. My own fingers were gleefully exploring the feel of his muscles underneath his shirt and undershirt. I was yearning to feel his warm, hot flesh for myself.

Not in the mood for patience any more, my fingers made their way to the bottom buttons of his shirt, fulfilling a deep desire to be the one to do this I quickly made work of the bottom four buttons for the blue shirt revealing the white t-shirt under it. A quick bend of the wrists and I had breached the barrier and my hands greedily explored the muscled stomach I had for so long wanted to touch and caress. Apparently, he liked it too. His lips broke from mine and the whimper of disappointment faded into a moan of pleasure as he turned his attention to my neck. My head fell back in bliss and I felt my hips reflexively rock into his causing a gasp to rip through us both.

A sudden loud ringing noise pierced the tranquil air making both of us jump apart. Jack leapt up off me, darting over to the monitors. My lust addled brain took a few moments pushing away the disappointment at the loss of his weight and warmth over me before it registered that it was one of Tosh's alarms going off.

"What's going on?" I asked still breathless and panting.

"Nothing. Someone reported a sighting to the police. Aircraft. They thought it was a spaceship"

"It wasn't?" I asked, now not really interested. I was more captured by the fact he sounded none to steady either. I allowed myself a satisfied smile as I watched him. His clothes were rumpled and his eyes were still dark despite the renewed concentration. His hair was a stylized mess from the attention of my hands... to be fair I probably wasn't in a much better state.

He turned to face me smirking.

"What?" I asked innocently despite the smile painted on my lips.

"I asked you a question" he said, one eyebrow rising in humour.

"Did you?"

He chuckled and walked back, barely sitting down before drawing me back to him. Happy with the renewed warmth near me I settled with my ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. This was my idea of heaven.

* * *

"So the next morning I wake up, the other three are still out cold so I know I have a chance to escape. I just had to get out the room, down the corridor, down the back stairs past fifty or so guards and then out into the desert"

"I thought you said they took your clothes?" I laughed

"And?" was the simple reply, sending me hurtling back into a fit of giggles.

"Did you make it?"

"Well once I-"

A sharp burst of sound interrupted the story Jack had been regaling me with. I looked quickly at the monitors in time to see Hinode stirring.

"She's awake" I muttered, jumping up and running bare foot along the cold stone heading towards the med room.

By the time I got there Hinode had struggled into an upright position. She was rubbing her eyes sleepily and starting to take in her surroundings.

"Anna?" she called.

"I'm here" I reassured her.

I reached her bedside and methodically slipped the needles out of her veins before she could register them.

"What happened?" she mumbled, still struggling

"Sorry, Owen thought it would be easier on you if you weren't awake during it" I apologised

"I see" she muttered before actually getting a good look at the machine in front of her. "Oh my god"

"Relax. I know it looks bad but it seems to have worked" I reassured her. The bag of fluid had now turned a bright, vivid shade of purple

"Are you sure?" she asked, eye fixed on the bag.

"Owen will need samples to test but there's no reason for it not to have worked" we both turned as Jack spoke. I hadn't realised he had followed me.

"Oh, hello" Hinode said startled.

Jack nodded his hello back, watching her carefully.

I knew he was looking for any signs of a freak out but, looking at him, something told me that wouldn't be a problem.

Red, bruised lips, dishevelled hair, flushed complexions and clothing all askew. It wasn't a hard leap to guess what had been going on.

I bit my lip as I saw Hinode take in the evidence. She looked at Jack who raised his eyebrow almost daring her to say something. She merely raised hers in return.

She turned to look at me. I averted my eyes. I felt weird but it was like I had been caught doing something bad by my mum. Hinode was like my family so I guess her opinion mattered a great deal to me.

"What do I do now?" she asked me. She was bypassing it. I felt a small part of me sink. Did she disapprove that much that she was just going to ignore it? Or was she waiting till we were alone before she asked about it?

"Go home" I said quietly "Get some sleep to recover"

I scooped up a bottle Owen had left for her.

"Take these. Two before you go to sleep, two when you wake up and two with lunch. We'll bring you in tomorrow to run more tests to make sure it worked"

She nodded not really saying anything. Her silence was slightly worrying me but since Jack didn't know her I hoped he would take it as a good sign that she wasn't freaking out. The fact she had matched him in his challenge with the eyebrow was working in her favour anyway.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'll take you home then I'll go back to mine"

"What about tomorrow? I have work" she said although there was no proper fight to her voice.

"I put in a word with your boss. You only need to go in tomorrow morning to make sure your patients are ok"

She caught my eye at that. I didn't mean patients... I meant patient.

* * *

"Will you be alright?"

I looked up from slipping my shoes back on to see Jack leaning against Tosh's desk watching me closely.

"Yes" I said smiling "Tonight really helped"

He smiled back, a genuine smile, a caring smile. That smile made me feel warm and protected.

"Maybe that will teach you to stop running away from me" he said, though his tone was not accusatory.

"Can you really blame me?" I asked, standing up and moving over to stand in front of him. He shrugged his head in acceptance, telling me that he did understand even if he didn't like it.

"But you are right" I admitted taking both his hands in mine and staring down at them "I shouldn't have ran. I was stupid and scared. But I've come to a realisation of sorts"

"And what would that be?" he asked. I looked up at him smiling.

"I don't care about what happens in the future. When my future can be so short I can only take things a day at a time. Worry about the future when it gets here"

"Seize the day?" he quipped, smiling back.

"Something like that" I laughed gently.

He leaned in for one last kiss which I happily returned before a soft clearing of a delicate throat broke us apart.

"Sorry Anna, I'm ready now" Hinode said quietly, standing beside the cog door.

I nodded and pulled fully away from Jack's warm body and grabbed my coat.

"Goodbye Captain" Hinode said to Jack as the cog door rolled open.

"Goodbye Dr. Sakurai" he returned.

"See you tomorrow, Jack" I called to him as I reached Hinode and started to lead her out.

"8:30 sharp, Kitten" he replied and I froze causing Hinode to stop in confusion beside me.

Kitten? He hadn't called me that since before the cannibal's incident. But the lack of the nickname recently had been a silent admission of the growing void between us. Now, it was back.

I turned back to look at him. He was leaning on the barrier watching us leave, a devious smirk decorated his features, knowing what the nickname had done. His eyes twinkled with mirth as he dropped me a wink and the smirk transformed into a grin.

I gave him a dazzling smile before turning back and leading Hinode back up to the tourist centre. Finally something in my life was starting to go right. Despite the darkness that seemed to be entrapping me from every angle, I felt safe.

I felt protected.

I felt like me again.

* * *

"Kitten?"

I looked at Hinode briefly before focusing back on the road. It was the first time she had spoken since we left the hub. She was looking at me for an explanation.

"The first time I met Torchwood Owen tries to take a blood sample. He didn't warn me and I reacted on instinct. I still didn't trust them, so I lashed out and burst his nose. "The kitten has claws", that's what Jack said. It just sort of stuck with him"

"No one else calls you that?" she asked.

"No. Jack calls me Kitten and Owen calls me Princess"

"If you're his superior why does he talk to you like that?"

Clear the lack of formality between the team was something she wasn't used to in a work environment.

"Like I said, we're more like family"

She fell quiet again and I didn't push her to say anything else. I knew it would take time for her to accept everything that had happened tonight.

We pulled up to her house and a quietly bid her goodnight. She paused before getting out the car looking at me closely. I couldn't figure out what her expression was but as it turned out I didn't have to know.

She launched herself into my arm squeezing me in a tight hug. I could feel the worry, fear and utter confusion pouring into every second of that hug. I hugged her closer trying to reassure her but it seemed to be in vain.

She pulled back, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Please Anna" she pleaded desperately "Don't get hurt"

I gaped at her as she bailed out of the car, running to her front door and letting herself in. The look in her eyes had told the truth of what she was worrying about... and it wasn't the job.

She was worried about Jack.

* * *

A while later I fell into bed, freshly showered and relaxed, to contemplate everything that had transpired throughout the day. I felt the wave of tiredness wash over my brain demanding I get some rest. I smiled as I realised that relaxing was so much easier. My talk with Jack had clearly done wonders for my stress levels.

I began thinking about what Hinode said:

"Please Anna, don't get hurt"

Those words chased themselves round and round in my head.

How could I explain to her that one way or another I knew I was going to get hurt. Jack didn't do commitments. He wasn't going to be around forever. Something was driving him, motivating him to save the world with as much passion and determination as he possibly could. Eventually he would find what he was looking for... and he would leave.

How could I make her see that the small amount of happiness I found with Jack was worth it. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle losing him. But it would hurt so much more if I never got to be with him in the first place.

My phone buzzed next to my ear, breaking me out of my thoughts. I pick it up and looked at the message. A wide grin spread over my lips as I saw the words on the screen.

'_It's been a long time since you've smiled like that_'

'_I've missed it. The nickname_' there was no point in lying about it.

'_If I had known that was all it took I would have done it weeks ago! How was she?_'

I contemplated the beginning of that message. Had Jack been restraining himself from our normal banter? Had he been giving me time to come to terms with the situation? Did he think I would have rejected him being so familiar with me? The thought of a self conscious Jack didn't settle right with me so I choose to ignore it. It was in the past now.

'_Quiet. I don't think you're very popular with her_' I replied answering his question.

'_She said that?_' Although through text I knew the tone wasn't hurt. More curious.

'_Not in so many words, but yeah. She's worried about me_' I knew I wouldn't have to clarify which aspect my best friend was worried about.

The reply forced a chuckle to escape my lips to penetrate the silent house.

'_Afraid I'll corrupt you?_'

'_If that is what she's worried about she's about 12 months too late!_' as soon as I pressed send I wondered if that had been such a smart thing to admit.

'_Really? Care to expand on that?_'

'_Like I'd give you more ammunition against me! I'm not that stupid_'

I blushed furiously at the thought of Jack finding out the details of the many fantasies he had starred in since we had met. His ego was big enough without being blessed with that information.

'_It's alright. I'll find another way to get the information out of you_"

I bit my lip tightly. God I could just imagine what he would come up with.

'_I'm sure you won't be short on ideas_'

'_I'll endeavour to live up to you expectations. But right now I believe you should be sleeping_'

I gaped in amused shock at the words. HE had text ME first!

'_I would be if my persistent Captain would stop trying to get the last word_'

'_It's a talent_' came the flippant reply '_Now GO TO SLEEP_'

I smiled and decided to concede with the order, knowing the comfortable warmth in my skin would aid the comfort of a good night's sleep.

'_Yes Captain_'

Just as I began to settle one more text roused me from the edge of slumber. The words ignited a spark in my stomach and sent a shiver of anticipation through my body.

'_By the way... Persistent? I haven't shown you the meaning of the word... Sweet dreams_'

* * *

**Disclaimer: Don't own Torchwood. And unfortunately never will.**

**A/N: Again sorry for the wait. Hope you liked it! Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Till next time bye!**

**P.S. I am open to any suggestions any one has for these two. Nothing is set in stone although I do have most of it planned out. See ya! **


	8. Out Of Time Part 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own torchwood. And unfortunately never will.**

**A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Briony Tallis for all her wonderful support. Also want to say a big thanks to all my (very) patient readers as well as my wonderful Beta and best friend Purpura-Papilio. **

**I used this chapter as a way of exploring Anna as a person rather than a team member so it may be a little different. Hope you all like it. Please Review!**

**P.S. Things are starting to heat up between Anna and Jack, just as a warning. Don't like. Don't read. :)**

* * *

The sound of buzzing against my ear roused me from my dreams. Sleepily I clawed under my pillow for my phone, mentally cursing whoever dared to wake me before my alarm. Finally finding the blasted object I clicked the answer button.

"Hello?" I yawned.

"Given your track record I'm willing to look over this, but I will require an explanation as to why you are so late" Jacks stern and unamused voice floated over the receiver.

"What?" I asked, trying to force my eyes to open and accept the daylight as my brain struggled to catch up.

"I believe I specifically told you to be in for 8:30...It's now 9:45"

"What!" I shouted, suddenly fully awake, flinging off my covers and grabbing desperately for something to wear, "Jack I'm so sorry, I can't believe I-"

I stopped abruptly as my eyes caught sight of the alarm clock. It read 6:45.

"Jack!" I growled, earning an amused chuckle.

"Just making sure I got your attention Kitten,"

"Jack, I wasn't planning to be up for another 45 minutes. Please tell me there is a valid reason for this call,"

"You're so easy to wind up in the mornings,"

"I know!" I snapped, sassiness dripping from my every word, "I'm not a morning person at the best of times but this is hardly a pleasant way to be woken up!"

"Oh?" I heard the feigned surprise suddenly infuse his voice lower the pitch to a sexy drawl, "and what, may I ask, is a pleasant way to be woken up?"

So unfair! Through a receiver he could still make me blush. Still, I played along.

"I am sure you don't need me to tell you that Captain,"

"Indulge me,"

"Why should I?" I smirked.

"Because I might just indulge your wish in return,"

My mind flashed back to the day before, Jack rousing me from my cat nap with a tantalising kiss, his hands playing over my body and his weight a known presence above me. God, he knew how to drive me mad with his kisses.

"I'm waiting Anna," he prompted.

"I wouldn't say no to another kiss but then again if you woke me like that, I'm not sure I'd let you leave,"

"Really?" he chuckled, "and how would you keep me from leaving?"

My mind jumped into overdrive with scenarios involving Jack and every form of restraint imaginable. My heart accelerated into light speed as I began to feel my body heat up in anticipation. I fought to keep my breathing steady even though I felt shaky and weak.

"Anna, would I be right in saying your attention is not fully on me and what I am saying to you right now? Has that mind of yours taken over with those fantasies you mentioned last night?"

I gulped. I knew it been a bad thing to admit I'd been thinking about him for months.

"Maybe," I admitted vaguely.

"Because I am afraid I have to insist on your full attention. As your captain I expect nothing less...Am I clear?" his voice was so deep and seductive that I couldn't help but feel a warmth pulling at my insides making me ache in need.

"Yes Captain" I breathed.

"Good girl" he praised before the smirk entered his voice again, "8:30 sharp, remember"

The phone clicked as the call ended.

I fell back on the bed trying to bring my raging hormones under control. That evil, annoying, brilliant man. He knew exactly how to get under my skin and fill my head leaving little room for anything else. And now, ever since our first kiss my body seemed to have suddenly become hypersensitive to his presence in my life.

The increasingly familiar heat clutching at my lower abdomen demanded attention and I growled in annoyance rolling out of bed and heading for the shower.

No way was I getting back to sleep now.

* * *

"No way! Ianto's going with all of them? No one to help?" I chuckled, "that's just not fair,"

"I'm sure tea boy can handle it," Owen said through a mouthful of cereal.

Owen, Tosh and I had gathered in the small kitchenette to scarf some breakfast before knuckling down to work. I was perched on the countertop swinging my legs as I munched on toast with peanut butter.

"Still, so you really think Jack should let Ianto go by himself with all three of them? I mean, they're still pretty shaken," Tosh ventured.

"I'll go talk to him" I assured her, "Hinode is supposed to be coming back in this afternoon so I could get dropped off on the way back,"

"How'd it go yesterday anyway?" Tosh asked.

"Considering the shock I think she took it as well as I could hope. She's not happy with me being in danger." I admitted.

"Did you tell her you're the weapons specialist?" Owen asked.

"_God_ no!" I exclaimed "I don't want to kill her with information. What I'm just gonna waltz up to her and go "Hey guess what, I'm also in charge of running around and experimenting with all the new weapons!?" Yeah, what a great idea! She's already not happy with the thought of me being second-in-command, never mind running around with weapons all the time,"

"Are you going to tell her?" Tosh asked.

"What's the point?" Owen interjected, "she's gonna be retconed by tonight anyway,"

"Maybe," I admitted quietly, not knowing if Jack was going to appear around the corner, "still, I think she could be useful to us from her position at the hospital,"

"You're gonna ask Jack to keep her on as an informant?" Tosh asked, thankfully lowering her voice as well.

"I already have, she's on trial right now,"

They both nodded in silent agreement to help me keep it quiet. I felt happier knowing they'd keep an eye on her.

"I'm going to talk to Jack," I said jumping of the counter, popping the last of the toast in my mouth.

I waved briefly to Gwen as she came in through the cog door and made my way towards the open door of Jacks office. Peeking my head in I rapped the door, catching his attention and making him look up from the paperwork he was pouring over.

"Can I come in?" I asked smiling.

He put his pen down and leaned back in his chair, settling like a contented cat, and gestured to the chair opposite.

"What can I do for you kitten?" he asked.

"I was thinking about how to get Hinode here. What about me going with Ianto and the others and stopping off at the hospital on their way back? Hinode and I can walk,"

"You think Ianto needs help?" he asked, a little smirk pulling at his lips.

"Course not" I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure he can handle it but although you like your little torture games, I think Ianto could benefit from having a woman there to help him,"

"Me? Torture?" he raised his eyebrows in mock innocence.

"Yes torture. Don't play the innocent with me. You're going to send Ianto with two women to try and teach them about twenty first century shopping? To any lesser guy that would be their idea of torture,"

He chuckled and inclined his head in agreement.

"Alright, go with him and bring Hinode with you on your way back,"

"How are they doing anyway?" I ventured the question with only a bit of hesitance.

"It's difficult, but they'll survive. It's hard getting used to a new world like this," he said.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," I commented quietly.

He looked at me, saying nothing, so I ventured further.

"Was it difficult for you?"

He continued to look at me. I got the distinct impression that he was trying to weigh up how much to tell me.

"No" he eventually admitted, "It wasn't. I was used to it by the time I came here. I'd been to so many places. Honestly? Planet Earth was almost a welcome break,"

"Except now you can't leave?" I fired off the question before my nerves bottled, seizing the opportunity to try and understand him a bit better.

"No, I can't leave," he smiled bitterly.

"Until…Whatever you're waiting for comes back?" I asked hesitantly.

I felt slightly proud at the surprise that flashed through his eyes. He didn't know I knew that. He hadn't realised that in our time together, since I joined, I had gotten the sense he was waiting for something important.

"Yes. Until that day, I can only wait here," he admitted.

"What makes you think it'll come?" I asked.

"It uses the energy in the rift," he answered simply, not going to elaborate.

That's fine. I could use another line of questioning. One that, if continued to go unanswered would bother me much more than not know what he was waiting for.

"So, when this thing eventually appears you'll…What?...Have answers? Leave?"

"Maybe both, maybe none," he shrugged.

I nodded silently, lowering my eye to the floor. He could leave. I fought the urge to get up and leave the office. Gathering all my courage I raised my eyes to his again. What I saw surprised me. I was expecting the blank calculating look, weighing my reaction to the thought of losing him. Instead, I saw a small fond smile.

I managed to conjure a smile in return, even though I was sure the surprise and confusion still coated my eyes.

It felt safe now to leave. I wasn't running away. We had reached a silent understanding. However, on my way to the door I stopped. I felt a tug on my heart needing to hear the words.

"So…If it comes, you'll leave us?" I didn't look round, speaking resolutely to the door.

However, my current positioning made it impossible to see him. So I hadn't noticed him rise from his chair and stalk over to me, silently. I jumped when the pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist pulling me back to him.

I risked a glance out the open door to make sure no one could see us. Sure enough from where I was standing the place looked empty. I slowly allowed myself to relax against his chest. My head rested back against his shoulder happily and I sighed in contentment.

Jack, on the other hand, had other ideas. He took advantage of the position of my head to slowly begin teasing his lips over the bare side of my exposed neck.

"If I did…" he started, the heat of his breath skimming over my skin nearly causing the strength in my legs to fail, "…Would you follow me?"

Trust him to pick that kind of question when he's currently making it impossible for me to think about anything else other than his lips on my skin.

Unbeknownst to him though, I had already thought about that question, many times. I knew my answer.

"No," I admitted quietly, succeeding in making him pause, however momentarily, in his ministrations on my neck.

I sighed deeply and sank back into his arms, allowing my eyes to slide shut so I could focus solely on what his lips were doing to my skin. My arm rose up to reach back and thread my fingers through his hair, tugging lightly.

"When you leave, it's going to be for you. The answers you need aren't for anyone else to hear. This is something you need to do alone; you need to do it for yourself. I won't deny that, if I'm still here when it happens, I will miss you. I can only hope we are enough to bring you back to us,"

As soon as the last sentence fell from my lips, I was ferociously spun round in his arms and his lips crashed onto mine. I looped my arms around his neck pulling myself closer as he tightened his arms around my waist. His lips were soft, but totally unyielding, as they dominated the kiss. I moaned in submission as I opened my lips to allow his exploration of my mouth to continue.

It didn't matter where we were and who could see us. In that moment, the only thought running through my head was how I was going to touch his warm skin. Jack seemed to have a similar idea. A gasp slipped from my lips only to be swallowed by his mouth as he slid his hand underneath my top.

I could feel myself helplessly tremble as the tips of his fingers delicately teased the flesh at my lower back, trailing up and down the ridges of my spine. My moan of need swiftly turned to a growl of annoyance, as my fingers found his shirt and undershirt trapped by his braces. He chuckled darkly against my lips.

"Tease," I muttered quickly, shoving him further back into his office.

Where the confidence was coming from, I didn't know, but come hell or high water I wanted a taste of his skin. If he thought layers of clothing were going to stop me, he had another thing coming.

Jack merely chuckled and let his hands trail higher till they toyed with my bra strap, pushing my t-shirt up my back and exposing my skin to the cold air of the office. I crashed my lips back onto his, allowing my fingers to slide up his chest and find their way to the top buttons of his shirt, fumbling blindly to undo them.

Once I had the top four undone I deemed it low enough to move on. My lips moved from his mouth, caressing down his jaw line, over his neck till I reached the firm surface of his clavicle. I curled my fingers over the neckline of his undershirt and gently tugged it down. I moaned at the taste of salted skin against my lips as I explored the beginnings of his firm chest muscles.

Jack meanwhile had been taking advantage of my distraction, guiding his fingers across the seam of my bra. I gasped his name against his skin as I became acutely aware of the soft brush on the underside of my breasts. He merely dropped his head to the side of my neck, manipulating the sensitive skin with talent and skill. I moan at his ministrations and pressed myself firmly against him, another moan spilling from my lips as I felt the stirrings of his own interest.

Out of boldness or lust, I wasn't sure what made me do it, but I began to allow my hips to move deliberately and slowly against him.

I grinned in delight as I heard a moan, low in his throat, make itself known. The sound coming from him made me feel powerful and sexy. I allowed my teeth to gently nip at his chest muscles getting a return nip against my neck as his hands continued to tease my breasts. As his fingers brushed over a clothed nipple my back arched towards him. My lips found his against, starting the hungry battle for domination all over again.

Jack was the first one to pull away, laughing as I tried to follow him.

"If we keep this up, we'll definitely be doing something that worth been caught doing" he chuckled.

"So, if it's worth being caught doing, why stop?" I breathed, trying to get another kiss which he allowed, before returning his hands to my waist so my t-shirt righted itself.

I pouted.

"Why do you always start this when you know we can't finish it?"

He smirked and pulled me closer to whisper in my ear.

"Maybe I just want you begging for it before the end,"

I pulled away, blushing but with a firm grin in place.

"Well. You're succeeding," I quipped before brushing past him and out the door leading to the back of the hub so I wouldn't be seen.

There was no doubt in my mind I would need a mirror to make myself look semi presentable again.

* * *

I laughed quietly in the back seat as John, Diane and Emma fired questions at Ianto. The trip to ASDA had certainly been an experience for them. They couldn't seem to get their head around the sheer quantity of food that was available nowadays.

Emma was gushing over the food and make up while John was still ranting about the inappropriate images on some of the magazines.

Diane, on the other hand, was still concerning herself over the prophecy of death on the cigarettes packets.

"Ianto, drop me off at the hospital. I'm bringing Hinode back in,"

"You want me to wait?" he asked.

"No, no. We'll walk back,"

"Alright,"

He pulled in around the corner from the hospital. Last thing we needed was a panic in the hospital cause the dreaded SUV had made an appearance.

"Alright have fun!" I said jumping out, "don't do anything I wouldn't!"

"Thankfully, that leaves quite a long list," Ianto replied.

I chuckled and shut the door, waving them off.

Walking in the entrance to the hospital was a surreal experience. Yesterday I had walked in here and announced that I was part of Torchwood and put the fear of God in them. Today, it was like it had never happened. Of course this time I wasn't drawing attention to myself.

I slipped along the corridor, up the stairs and swiftly found my way to Bridget's room. Stopping in the doorway I watched the scene in front of me. Bridget was in an inclined sitting position against the bed, her thin face transformed with a smile as she animatedly explained her dream to a laughing Hinode.

"And then the rabbit ran towards me and the puppy tried to bark at it but it didn't stop. It made a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig hop and landed in my arms. It was a really big jump!" she demonstrated with stick thin arms.

"Sounds more like Tigger to me," I said, casually.

They both turned, Bridget gasping in delight as she saw me.

"Anna! You came!" she exclaimed happily, as I crossed the room and gently hugged her.

"Of course I did," I laughed settling down to sit on the bed next to her as Hinode moved the chair into a better position, "now what kind of trouble have you gotten into since I last saw you?"

"Oh, someone had a little fight with another in the playroom," Hinode said, although she was smiling.

Must be something she knows I would find amusing.

"It's not my fault!" Bridget pouted as she defended herself, "he wouldn't listen"

"Don't worry there was no violence," Hinode assured me, "one of the boys tried to tell her all angels are good with pure white wings and only come to take good little children to God,"

"But your angel didn't do that did it Anna!" Bridget interjected, "he saved you"

"Yes Bridget, he did" I nodded, patiently as her voice filled with excitement at the thought of Dark Angel that had saved her big cousin.

"And he had big dark wings!"

"-And a beautiful soft voice" I finished smiling.

"But Jason told me that your angel must be evil, because of its dark wings"

"It saved me Bridget, and that's all you need to worry about. Let Jason have his opinion but don't worry about it if he says you're wrong. You know you're right,"

Bridget pouted at the gentle scolding. I laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Now little Miss, I think it's time for your medication," Hinode rounded up the conversation.

"But it makes me sleepy," she whined.

"Good, you need to rest," Hinode answered, firmly.

I smiled as Bridget pouted even more but accepted the medication without further complaint. Sure enough her eyelids began to drop and I adjusted her bed so she was lying down. I kissed her forehead softly as Hinode done one last check on her IV bag and made sure the machines were in working order.

Nodding to each other we silently left the room, closing the door on the sleeping child within.

* * *

"You always tell her that story like its real," Hinode commented as she laced up her trainers.

I sat next to her on the wooden bench of the changing room.

"I know," I muttered.

"…It still bothers you, doesn't it?" she asked "that night I mean,"

"I don't know what happened; I doubt I ever will. The whole thing could have been a dream for all I know, or maybe it did happen"

"But you don't believe in angels,"

"I believe in guardians,"

"What about…Anything else?" she began hesitantly, "I mean, with your line of work, did you ever wonder if it was…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the word I knew was on the tip of her tongue.

"Sometimes," I admitted.

"Have you asked Jack about this?"

"No. I only told him the full story last night"

"Last night? That's all?" she blinked, "After everything-"

"I told you, this whole thing with us is pretty recent" I admitted.

"Why was last night different then?" she asked standing up, ready to go.

I fought back a small smile and reached into my bag, my fingers curling around the familiar paper and carefully drawing it out.

The smile broke out as I saw the strange look Hinode gave me as she took the paper. The look quickly transformed into one of surprise as she studied the paper.

"Him?" she asked, gaping as she looked back at me, "but how?"

"No, no. Not really him," I clarified, "just…It's how he makes me feel; safe and protected. I'm not stupid enough to actually believe an angel saved my life that night but…I don't know…There's just something about him that…"

I couldn't finish any of these sentences, and from the look on her face Hinode's suspicion of infatuation was only increasing.

"It doesn't matter," I mumbled, taking the paper back.

"So, how did you get up the courage to show him that picture?" Hinode asked as we made our way to the door.

"I didn't," I admitted, "I did something stupid and he ended up having to stich me up. I passed out and he stayed with me. The picture was on the table. When he asked about it I promised I would tell him about it one day,"

"And you told him about it yesterday, because…?" she prompted.

"We had a really good talk. Like the old days, before he knew how I felt about him. He wanted to make sure I was ok. Between the guys at school and Mum and Gran dying, and this whole thing with you and…" I realised I was rambling, "…Other things,"

"You told him everything?"

"Pretty much," I nodded, "he's good at making me feel comfortable. You know, a lot of the time I have to stay strong and know what I'm doing. I don't need to do that with him. I can be vulnerable and not be scared that he'll think less of me,"

"So, let me get this right," Hinode said as we got out into the brisk weather, "you can happily sit there and pour your biggest worries out to him, and yet…You're ok with not really knowing anything about him,"

"Yeah," I said simply.

There was a big pause between us before she started talking again.

"All of that happened last night when I was knocked out?" she asked earning a nod from me, "oh, right, I thought that was…"

"I know what you thought" I chuckled, her slightly uncomfortable expression a major clue, "and yeah there was a bit of that too, but nothing as far as you were thinking. Actually, when you woke up I had been laughing. He had been telling me a story of one of his past adventures,"

"So, you two haven't slept together yet?" she asked, a part of me wanted to laugh at the blunt surprise in her voice.

"No not yet but…" I trailed off, my thoughts straying to this morning in his office "…Things are heating up I think,"

"I would've thought it would have been one of the first things he got from you, after he found out" she commented.

"I really wouldn't have complained if he did," I replied evenly.

Hinode's expression went from thoughtful to incredulous in a matter of seconds as she looked at me with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe what I had just said.

"Why not? You deserve more than that Anna," she said, disbelief underlying her tone.

"And that's what I'm getting, but even if he had only indulged me for one night, I would still be grateful of any time he was willing to give me," I defended.

There was a silent, pregnant pause between us. I was on the verge of wondering if Hinode was going to tell me I needed to look at things more logically, as was her usual manner, but she finally spoke that was just a little bit out of character for her.

"I… I just don't understand," Hinode admitted quietly, looking at the pavement as we walked.

"I know," I replied softly, "I don't expect you to. It's hard to understand this kind of thing when you're not a part of…Well…What we do at Torchwood, has a way of…Changing the way you see things"

She was quiet for the rest of the walk.

* * *

"Hey, where are you off to?" I caught hold of Owen's arm as he raced towards the door we just came through.

"I'm taking Diane to see her plane," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"That all?" I smirked.

Although he was still maintaining his scruffy boyish charm it was easy to tell when Owen had made more of an effort than usual.

"And maybe if it suits us I'll take her to lunch. Problem?" he huffed.

"None," I chuckled, releasing his arm allowing him to dart away again, "Try not to tire her out too quickly!" I called, receiving a grumbled in response before the cog door rolled shut to part us.

"Come on," I moved forward again bringing Hinode with me, "I'll just do the tests,"

As I reached the top of the stairs Jack came sweeping out of his office, his greatcoat finishing its last caress as its weight dropped onto his shoulders.

"John, right?" I enquired, earning a nod from him.

"I'm just making sure he's adjusting," Jack said.

"Well he seemed to do alright at the shop, considering how overwhelming it is compared to what he's used to," I told him, "it's his past connections that'll be harder to get over. Has Tosh found his son?"

"Not yet," Jack shook his head gravely.

"You're worried about him," I frowned. It wasn't a question.

"He's having more difficulty than the others," Jack replied simply.

I nodded in understanding, knowing it would be all he would reveal in front of someone who didn't fully trust him yet. Jack nodded to both of us and swept out the cog door behind Owen.

"Doesn't say much, does he?" Hinode commented.

It wasn't a jab at Jack; just an observation on her part.

"He doesn't need to" I told her, leading her down into the autopsy room after removing our coats, "I'm not a mind reader but I can usually tell what kind of line his thoughts are taking,"

"That, and I'm sure he won't say anything important in front of me" she pointed out, jumping up onto the table and rolling up her sleeves.

"True," I acknowledged, "you don't trust him so he won't put anything at risk by telling you,"

I carefully laid out everything I would need on the silver tray next to the table she was perched on. I knew it would be detrimental to tell her what I had asked Jack to consider for her but I was trying not to make him look like the bad guy here. I honestly couldn't see why Hinode had such a big problem with Jack but I had to do my best to let her see the good sides of him.

Problem was her hostility towards him was not helping in allowing him to lower his defences in order for her to be comfortable around him. Jack demanded trust, you gave it or you didn't. End of.

I didn't trust him when I had first met him either, but it didn't take me long to see his side of things. Once we understood where we were with each other, the working relationship grew almost instantly.

I didn't see it being such a smooth ride with Hinode. She responded to facts, not feelings.

"Every human will find out someday, we're just privileged to be one of the first to know. To Jack, it will be up to you how much you accept of our world. If you can't accept it then you won't know of it any longer than you have to," I told her.

I didn't want to be cruel to her, but time was running out in the decision-making process.

"What do you mean?"

Good, finally something had hit home; she sounded nervous and unsure. I took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. I was calm, and she knew I was serious.

"We have something that will make you forget everything you've learned in the last few days about Torchwood. If you choose to stay away then you can take it to forget everything you've seen,"

Hinode's eyes slowly widened as she looked at me, like she was struggling to find her best friend underneath the confident strong young leader in front of her.

"But…If I want to remember?" she asked quietly.

I smiled in excitement for everything she could discover with us.

"Then anything could happen,"

I swiftly picked up the glass of water next to me and handed it to her

"Lots of needle work needed here," I explained so she knew it was drugged this time.

She took the glass wordlessly, still trying to process the importance of what I had just explained to her.

"You'll wake up in a room similar to last night," I assured her, "feel free to spend as much time as you want thinking in there. No one will disturb you,"

She gulped the glass down without fuss as I spoke.

"Do you love him?" she asked suddenly, looking at me as she lowered the glass from her lips.

"Yes," I answered truthfully, without hesitation.

The time it took for her to ask the next question was what the drug needed to take effect.

"…Why?"

Hinode was barely fighting her drooping eyelids as she slumped down onto the table. I pulled her legs up to rest on the same level so she would be comfortable before I brushed her hair away from her face and smiled softly.

"Because he saved me,"

The drug took full hold and she fell into a dreamless sleep, a small frown pulled at her lips and her eyebrows furrowed down.

I sighed and turned to begin, and as I picked up the first needle, I hoped she'd forgive me…For everything.

* * *

"Did you spend all night here?"

I looked up from the computer screen to see Ianto brandishing a mug of coffee in front of me. I smiled gratefully.

"Yeah. Slept on the sofa; Hinode's in so I didn't want to leave her" I said taking the mug from him.

"You'll end up being crippled early if you keep sleeping on that thing" he commented lightly, before moving away.

In truth it probably wasn't a far stretch of the imagination. The couch wasn't the comfiest of places to sleep. Still, what was the other option? I didn't even know where Jack had managed to find a place to sleep in here. I could probably ask him but-

Whoa…A bit early in the day to go there.

I shook my head chuckling to myself then cursed as wet droplets from my hair, which was still damp from my earlier shower, spattering all over the papers in front of me. In this line of working showers and a spare change of clothes were always necessary; dried in blood was a bugger to get out.

I looked at the nearest clock, the figures read at 8:30 am. Hinode had been in the recovery room for nearly 16 hours. But I had kept my word and not disturbed her. I didn't need to; the room had food, water and an en-suite bathroom so she'd have everything she needed. She must have woken up hours ago though.

I tried not to worry. Torchwood took a lot of getting used to, so the more time she'd have to reflect on this whole situation, the calmer she'd be when she emerged.

"Hey Anna,"

I was roused from my thoughts by Toshiko's soft voice. I smiled and gestured for her to sit with me to which she dutifully pulled up a chair.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" I asked.

Even though my own life had been hectic I was still concerned for Tosh. Since the whole thing with Mary she'd been quiet. Jack had spoken with her, and she seemed to accept what had happened. But I knew that probably didn't make it hurt any less.

"I'm hanging in" she nodded softly.

Her gentle mannerisms always made me wonder why she was still single. Tosh could hold her own in a fight but she never lost the gentle part of her heart that made her so uniquely Tosh.

Owen was a total idiot.

"But I came over to talk about you," she admitted.

Her eyes now displayed an emotion I was very used to coming from Tosh, a satisfied gleeful spark that made her eager to tell someone of her accomplishments. The last time she looked like this she had just hacked into recently updated army files.

"What have you done?" I asked in a playful voice.

"Here," she produced a folder of paper from her bag, "you have a right to know"

She got up and left after that, not saying another word, like the contents of the folder would explain everything. I frowned in confusion. It lasted till I flipped open the folder and read the title of the top page.

_Last Will and Testament of Penny Jane MacGregor._

Holy crap!

I flicked through the folder quickly, scanning its insides. It had everything. The Will, minutes of meetings, phone conversations with lawyers, transcripts, details of estate and inheritance.

Tosh had pulled up everything I needed to know about why my family were still in Scotland trying to fight the will.

I had been aware that I was the sole benefactor, but I hadn't been aware of the amounts of money we were talking about.

When Gran was extradited from the family she certainly hadn't been empty handed. Granddad had obviously made a lot of good investments which was a talent he had passed onto Gran. She had been very wealthy. Apart from the flat in Cardiff and the house in Scotland she had three more small living quarters scattered around the country.

This was what my parents had been hiding. The sheer amount of money would be too much for any young girl to handle. However, unbeknownst to them, I wasn't just any young girl.

I checked the last day the will was revised.

October last year, three weeks after I had first joined Torchwood.

It would seem Gran had known that too.

* * *

"We can't expect John and Diane to look after her. They're strangers. I had to take her in. Diane didn't even come home last night,"

I looked up at Gwen as she exited Jack's office with him in tow, obviously talking about Emma. Apparently the young girl had caused a bit of a scene, and John hadn't been happy about it. Luckily Emma had phoned Gwen to come and get her.

"Uh, I think she was in a B&B. I'll take her job-hunting later," Owen interjected as Diane was mentioned.

Translation: 'she was with me the whole time and we're trying to keep it a secret by lying very badly'.

"Jack, John's son…" Tosh interjected, stealing everyone's attention, "I think I've found him,"

Jack crossed over to stand behind her as she explained what she had found. Apparently, John's son was in a nursing home with severe Alzheimer's. The good thing about this was that his condition was so bad John would be able to go and see him without completely scaring the life out him. Unfortunately, the down side to that was that it was only even slightly possible for John to visit because it was likely his son wouldn't remember him.

Somehow I didn't see John reacting too well to that.

"Ianto," Jack called, making him look up from one of the computer screens, "go and get John and take him to see his son. Tosh will go with you to fill him in on everything,"

I kept quiet as the two of them left and Gwen and Owen returned to their own work. Once I was sure no one was watching me, I stood up without attracting attention to myself and made my way over to Jack's office. I knocked once lightly before entering and shutting the door behind me.

"Jack, look at this"

I couldn't help it. After spending half an hour looking through the file Tosh had handed to me I had to show him. I couldn't get the suspicion of the date out of my head.

Jack looked up as I came in.

"What is it?" he enquired, casually looking at the folder in my hands.

"Tosh got it for me" I said, holding the folder of important documents out for him to take, "said I had a right to know,"

He took it from me frowning and, flipping it open, scanned the contents silently.

"Well, you knew all this anyway, didn't you?" he asked, not seeing the problem immediately.

"Check the last time it was amended," I prompted.

He eyes moved to the bottom of the page where the date was located, and his expression changed. His eyebrows shot up in surprise as the significance of the date made sense to him.

Then his features relaxed into a smile and he settled back in his chair.

"Well, your Grandmother is full of surprises" he commented, a smile in his voice, before looking up at me, "what are you going to do about it?"

I gaped in shock and disbelief at him. I didn't understand why he wasn't taking this as seriously as I was. This had the potential to compromise everything.

"This doesn't bother you? What if she knew about Torchwood? How could she know? Who else knows? Why would she change her will just because I started here? It doesn't make sense Jack,"

He just chuckled.

"But it hardly matters now, does it? If she had her motives we can't ask her," he reasoned, regarding me with an amused smile.

"Oh," I paused, the panic that had gripped my gut coming to a halt, "I…Guess not,"

I sighed in relief at the sudden simplicity of it all.

"So?" prompted Jack, repeating his question now that I had calmed, "what are you going to do?"

Surprisingly the answer was simple, like my subconscious had everything worked about before I had even allowed my conscious mind to consider any course of action.

"I'll go and look at the flat. If it suits, I'll phone the lawyer and demand to know everything since it is pertaining to me. I'll tell them I want the flat here and the house in Scotland. They can have everything else,"

"Really?" he asked, his brows rising ever so slightly in his surprise.

"Come on" I drawled, "it's not like I need the money since both the flat and the house is paid off and the other houses will just sit gathering dust…But there is one thing I will insist on though,"

Jack regarded me silently as I gathered my thoughts. And as I paused, I was resolute in my decision.

"They can have everything else, but they use the money to pay for Bridget's funeral," I said firmly.

"Couldn't you do that?" Jack asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk, placing the folder containing all those legal documents between them.

"In a heartbeat," I confirmed, "but…They abandoned her, Jack. I provided the extra money, time and care she needed to make her last years as happy and comfortable as I could make them. I took care of Bridget in life. At the very least, they can take care of her in death,"

"That sounds like an ultimatum," he commented, "And what if they refuse?"

Deep down I really wanted to say that I wasn't as cruel to take the money and houses away if they couldn't agree to this one small thing for the youngest member of our family. But, despite what Bridget insisted about me, I was no princess.

"…Then…I'll find other solution for the stuff I don't want," I admitted heavily.

"You'd really take it away if they won't agree?" Jack asked.

"Not without some guilt," I admitted after I thought about it briefly, "they are my family after all…But so is Bridget,"

"And what would Bridget want you to do?"

I turned my gaze to the floor, unable to keep eye contact with him. My lips closed and remained so with his question. The direction my thoughts were going in was difficult to come to terms with. Jack didn't say anything to prompt me to speak though, so I stayed silent. The seconds stretched into minutes and I began to hear the scratching of Jack's pen on the paper work as he left me to my thoughts.

"…I can't forgive them," I finally said, and the scratching stopped.

"I love my family and I know they love me but…I…They left me. I had never felt so alone…The first night they didn't come back to see me. After that I'd see them twice a week, maybe three times on occasion. I know why but…I still have never fully forgiven them for it. And now my Aunt and Uncle have done the same to her and…"

The feelings were too confusing to finish explaining but I felt I'd said enough.

"I know what Bridget would want me to do…But I'm not that good,"

"She looks up to you doesn't she?" he asked.

It was comforting that he thought as such, considering he'd never seen us interact. I parted my lips to reply, but a voice from the doorway spoke up.

"Bridget does much more than that,"

We both looked around to see Hinode watching us. I chuckled at myself for being so distracted I hadn't noticed the door opening. I noticed Jack tilt his head to the side slightly, inviting Hinode to explain herself further if she wished.

"Anna is Bridget's hero; the big sister she never had. She thinks Anna is like the princesses she reads about in books. She keeps telling Anna that she wants to go to her Prom to see her dressed like a real princess,"

"She's just a kid" I interjected quickly, "she doesn't know who I am outside that hospital room,"

"Anna, she's a mini version of you," Hinode pointed out, her gaze looking at me knowingly, "I think she sees a lot more than she lets on. She's more intuitive than you give her credit for,"

I looked down again, focusing on the floor.

"I wish I could be what she wants me to be…" I confessed out loud.

I shook my head in determination to stop thinking about it so much after a few moments. This was a lot of drama, for so early in this morning. And not the kind of drama I was willing to entertain.

"Let's go," I said abruptly, standing up and reaching for the folder that still lay on Jack's desk.

"Where?" Hinode asked, wide-eyed and just a little bit unsure.

"We still need to talk," I explained quickly, nodding a quick goodbye to Jack.

I resisted the urge to bite my lip as I saw his eyes. He clearly saw the emotional shutters come down and knew within moments that this was bothering me more than I was letting on. Still, I felt uncomfortable sitting there with both Jack and Hinode watching me fight with myself.

I led Hinode out into the main body of the Hub before taking her over to my desk.

"You were in the recovery room a long time," I commented without looking at her as I sat down behind my desk, not giving her a chance to ask about what had happened in the office. She stood on the other side, watching me and my behaviour closely.

"It's a lot to work through but…I think I'm getting used to the idea. I still don't understand why you would choose to work with danger like this every day, but…I can recognise that the possibilities of discovery are attractive to you," she admitted, the look in her eyes gave me little doubt that she would grill me about what occurred in the office later.

"Well, it's good that you are making progress with your thoughts," I nodded, snatching up a file on top of a small pile and offering it to her to read as I changed the subject, "your tests came back clean. No alien stuff that's overtly dangerous in any of your results. However you do have some new antibodies in your immune system that, as far as I can tell, will do nothing but good. Your improved antibodies will make the cold feel like its attacking Fort Knox. I'm not sure how well it'll do against stronger diseases though, but on a day to day basis you're good to go,"

She took the file from my hands and opened it with a flick of the wrist, nodding as I spoke, her eyes reading over the results with the sort of speed and efficiency that came with being a doctor for so long.

"Alright…So, what happens now? Why do these results mean that it's a good thing that I'm coming to terms with all this?" she asked raising her eyebrows in uncertainty, one of her hands leaving the file to motion to the Hub around us.

"Because it means we're coming to decision time" I told her, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my desk, "are you in, or out? Do you want to remember, or not? These results mean everything's ok and things can go back to the way they were before you knew about all this,"

The understanding fell over her expression, softening it into contemplation.

"All this stuff…" she began in reflection, "it's wonderful…Although…I'm not sure how well I'll manage knowing you're in danger nearly every day and not being able to do anything about it,"

"I know. But at least you'll have an answer when I go suddenly missing. Or alternatively, as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss"

"Anna…Is there any-"

Hinode was cut off by her phone ringing loudly in her pocket. She fished it out and frowned at the same flashing on the screen.

"It's the hospital," she revealed before answering with her professional voice, "Dr Sakurai speaking,"

She had barely finished talking before I heard the voice on the other end of the phone launch into panicked speech. Hinode's expression changed, and I recognised it. It was the one she pulled up and had schooled herself to use when facing with an emergency. Her grip tightened around her phone.

I felt my stomach drop.

Hinode stood up violently, her mouth morphing into a grim-set line, "alright I'll be right there,"

She had hardly hung up the phone before she spoke.

"Bridget has taken a turn for the worse, we need to-"

I had already thrown her coat at her, my feet running towards the exit. It wasn't long before she was hot on my heels.

* * *

I felt like I was going to be sick.

The plastic chair out in the hall I was sitting in barely managed to hold my weight as I rocked back and forth on its legs. I rested my head forward on my palms, my elbows on my knees as I fought back the bile creeping up my throat. The stench of the hospital taunted my senses as I swallowed over and over, forcing the bile back down.

Blood, rotting flesh and decay. They were the smells of nature. Hospitals carried the scent of Death itself.

My throat started to close up for the millionth time as I fought back tears. I had been sitting in this chair for hours, not knowing what to do with myself. I didn't want to go through this alone, but I had told Jack and the team to stay where they were. I didn't want them to see me this broken.

"You should call him,"

I registered Hinode's soft voice as she sat down in the chair beside me but I didn't look up. The fact she was encouraging me to call Jack told me everything.

In a split second I had gone from having a few more weeks with Bridget to a mere few hours. Hinode couldn't be my friend here because she was the professional, so she would have to wait till after to allow herself the heart-wrenching breakdown. Hinode had enough thought to suggest I should call one of the few other people who could comfort me.

"I'm sorry Anna," she whispered, her voice straining not to crack as I didn't move, "we did everything we could but…You don't have long now…You should make the most of it,"

I felt the slightest of breezes as she stood up and left.

I tried to move but I couldn't make my muscles obey the command to walk into the room that leaked nothing but misery and pain.

Then I heard her.

"Anna? Anna, are you there?"

The soft yet strained voice called out for me, and I was helpless to disobey. Her beckoning voice gave me enough strength to stand and walk inside.

Bridget lay there staring at the doorway as I walked through it. The sight that I was greeted with broke my heart. Her skin was ash grey, and her little body was trembling with exhaustion every though she wasn't moving. Her skeleton-like hands were all the more pronounced now that she wasn't waving them about in an animated storytelling session.

I rushed over to her to pull the covers up higher. Trying in vain, I held the tears back as I tucked them in under her body and pulled her into my arms as I sat on the bed with her.

She was ice cold.

"I'm here, baby" I croaked out, "I'm here"

"…I'm scared Anna," she whimpered, burrowing closer to me.

"I know," I whispered, "I am too,"

"Where's Mummy and Daddy?" her voice asked for her parents, breathless in fright.

The tears started to trickle slowly down my face. How could I answer that? How could I tell a scared little girl her parents weren't coming in her most desperate time?

Answer: I couldn't.

"They'll be here. They're coming, baby. They'll come and take you home,"

"You won't leave Anna, will you?" she asked suddenly, holding me tighter as if afraid I was going to pull away.

Her panic triggered off a coughing fit that left her gasping. I could do nothing but hold her as she hacked and coughed in my arms, her frail body trembling and fighting for breath.

"I won't leave you," I promised, "I'll be right here,"

It went quiet again except for Bridget's wheezing breaths as she tried to calm herself. God, even now she was trying to be strong even. I could feel the strength leaving her small frame as she slumped further against me out of exhaustion.

"Can you sing to me Anna?" she asked, her voice nothing but an echo of what it once was.

I felt my own panic grip me tight. I didn't want to sing to her. I didn't want to sing her to sleep and send off into that cold and final darkness…But…I had already lied to her…I couldn't deny her last request.

So I sang all the Disney songs from the movies we had sat and watched together. All of her favourite songs, and anything else she asked of me. I gave her everything that she asked to allow her to feel safe and peaceful.

Eventually, she stopped asking.

She was asleep.

Her ragged breathing began to slow in my arms and the dam broke inside me. I held onto my dying cousin for as long as I could, listening to her breathing and the beeps and whirs of the monitors that stood on either side of her pillows. The tears ran down my face soaking her limp hair as I sobbed.

I registered a warm coat being pulled over us masking the smell of the hospital with the smell of warmth and comfort.

I didn't look at him.

I just sobbed harder as the final flat line echoed around the room.

* * *

**A/N: Well there it is! Please R&R.**

**Quick Note: born-to-be-lost came up with the lovely idea of having a ship name for these two. So we have two suggestions**

**Annack or Janna.**

**Personally for me Janna sounds a bit too much like Yana AKA The Master AKA The bastard who killed Jack for fun multiple times. But hey that's just my obsessive protection over my beloved fictional character LOL.**

**So I decided to leave the choice up to you guys.**

**Tell me in your reviews which one you like better and when I upload the next chapter the one with the most votes will be the chosen ship name for Jack and Anna!**

**Love you ALL Xxx**


End file.
